How do you say “Christmas” in Spanish? How do they rejoice Christmas in Spanish-speaking cultures?
Right here’s all of the solutions you ever needed to know concerning the holidays in Spanish!
Moreover Christmas Day itself, there are different holidays celebrated in Spanish-speaking nations over the winter. A few of these are even larger than Christmas Day, and general the winter festivities final a few month. These different holidays typically deal with holy feast days from eighth December to sixth January. That stated, Christmas Day has turn into extra common to rejoice,
So moreover studying about Christmas in Spanish and all the vacation vocabulary you want, let’s be taught concerning the distinctive vacation traditions from across the Spanish-speaking world.
Felices vacaciones! (“Joyful Holidays!”)
“Merry Christmas” in Spanish
How do you say “Merry Christmas” in Spanish?
¡Feliz Navidad!
In English, feliz interprets as “glad” and navidad means “nativity”. So, it really means “Joyful Christmas” or “Joyful Nativity”. You could acknowledge the phrase from the favored tune – Feliz Navidad.
How would you say “Joyful Christmas Eve”?
In Spanish, “Christmas Eve” is Nochebuena, which implies “the Good Night time”. So that you may need guessed it: “Joyful Christmas Eve” is Feliz Nochebuena.
Nochebuena is the day most massive celebrations occur in Spain, just like the dinner feast with household and Midnight Mass. Households typically keep up all night time throughout Nochebuena celebrating collectively and opening presents.
Enjoyable reality: The normal Christmas flower, the Poinsettia, can be referred to as Flor de Nochebuena (“The flower of the Good Night time”).
“Joyful New 12 months” in Spanish
You possibly can want somebody a “Joyful New 12 months” by saying Feliz Año Nuevo. This can be a literal translation, with feliz that means “glad”, año that means “12 months”, and nuevo that means “new”. In Spanish, the adjective comes after the noun it describes, so it actually interprets as “Joyful 12 months New”.
However, you may also want somebody a “affluent new 12 months”. You possibly can say ¡Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo! to want somebody “Merry Christmas and Joyful New 12 months” in Spanish.
Lots of New 12 months traditions welcome in prosperity for the brand new 12 months, so Próspero Año Nuevo is often used.
For New 12 months’s Eve, you say Nochevieja. It really interprets as “outdated night time”, as a result of it’s the final day of the outdated 12 months.
There are lots of hispanic superstitions about beginning the brand new 12 months utterly new and recent. Many individuals be sure that they’ve cleaned their houses, and put on all new garments. This fashion, nothing from the outdated 12 months comes with them into the brand new one.
Some folks consider that is necessary to thrust back unhealthy luck.
50+ Extra Spanish Phrases and Phrases for the Christmas Season
So how do you speak about Christmas in Spanish? How do you inform somebody to countdown to midnight, and speak about your New 12 months’s Decision?
Listed below are all of the phrases you must discuss concerning the holidays in Spanish.
Christmas Spanish Vocabulary
- To want – Desear
- Angel – Ángel
- To embellish – Decorar
- Christmas tree – Árbol de Navidad
- Winter – Invierno
- Snow – Nieve
- Sleigh bells – Campanas de trineo
- Presents – Regalos
- Mistletoe – Muérdago
- Reindeer – Reno
- Santa Claus- Papá Noel
- Sweet cane – Bastón de caramelo
- Christmas card – Tarjeta de Navidad
- Snowman – Muñeco de nieve
- Rejoice – Celebrar
- Dinner – Cena
- Chimney – Chimenea
- Eggnog – Ponche de huevo
- Candles – Velas
- Elf – Elfo
- Decoration – Adorno
- Household – Familia
- Star – Estrella
- Fire – Hogar
- Chestnuts – Castañas
- Carols – Villancicos
- Gingerbread man / Gingerbread home – Hombre de pan de jengibre / Casa de jengibre
- Vacation – Vacaciones
- Sizzling chocolate – Chocolate caliente
- Jolly – Alegre
- Christmas lights – Luces de Navidad
- Naughty – Travieso
- Good – Agradable
- Goodwill – Buena voluntad
- Nutcracker – Cascanueces
- Stocking – Calcetín navideño
- Tinsel – Oropel
- Good tidings – Buenas nuevas
- Wrapping paper – Papel de regalo
- December 25 – Vienticinco de diciembre
New 12 months’s Spanish Vocabulary
- Twelve o’clock – Las doce
- Countdown – Cuenta regresiva
- New 12 months’s decision – Propósito de año nuevo
- Balloons – Globos
- Confetti – Confeti
- Midnight – Medianoche
- Grapes – Uvas
- Champagne – Champán
- Fireworks – Fuegoes artificiales
- Midnight kiss – Beso de medianoche
- Clock – Reloj
- Ring within the New 12 months – Anillo en el año nuevo
- Calendar – Calendario
- Custom – Tradicion
- January 1st – Primero de enero
If you wish to be taught extra Spanish Vocabulary, try this video on learn how to be taught Spanish on-line:
Spanish Christmas and Winter Vacation Traditions
With all of the vocab I’ve given you, you’re seemingly prepared to speak about your personal traditions and holidays in Spanish. So, let’s study Spanish cultural traditions and distinctive holidays.
There are foolish Spanish traditions, non secular Spanish feast days, and a day even larger than Christmas in most Spanish-speaking nations. Possibly this 12 months, you may attempt a Spanish custom, too!
Tió de Nadal
This one may confuse tennis followers at first, however it has no ties to the enduring Rafael Nadal or his uncle and coach Tony.
Celebrated in Catalonia, Tió de Nadal means “Christmas Log”, however it’s additionally referred to as Caga Tió – the “Pooping Log”.
A wooden log is dressed up with a face, wood legs, and a hat on the feast day of the Immaculate Conception on December eighth. Kids need to hold the log heat by overlaying it with a blanket, and feeding it small items of meals within the night.
On Christmas, the household will hit the log with a stick and ask the log to poop out treats. In the event that they took excellent care of the log, they’ll obtain their reward – normally turrón, a candy nougat dessert.
El Día de los Reyes Magos
Though Christmas is now a day of gift-giving, it wasn’t at all times this fashion. The normal day of gift-giving is January sixth, when the Clever Males deliver the presents, and never Santa Claus.
Referred to as El Día de los Reyes Magos (“the day of the Wizard Kings”), this vacation is predicated on the biblical story of the three Clever Males who visited Jesus shortly after he was born. After they noticed him, they introduced him with presents of frankincense, myrrh, and gold.
On January sixth, there’s normally a parade throughout which the Clever Males undergo city and throw sweet to younger kids. When the children return residence, they miss their sneakers, hoping for “the Kings” to fill them with presents. If the children have been unhealthy, they could obtain lumps of coal as a substitute of presents.
It’s not so unhealthy right this moment, although. Previously, the “coal” was actual, however these days it’s really sweet!
Dia de los Santos Inocentes
The Spanish model of April Idiot’s Day, referred to as Día de los Santos Inocentes (“Day of the Holy Innocents”), occurs just a few days after Christmas on December twenty eighth. It’s a enjoyable day of pranks and silliness, similar to April 1st may be.
El Gordo
Proper earlier than Christmas on December twenty second, the Spanish Nationwide Lottery (referred to as, El Gordo, “The Fats One”) goes on. It’s the largest lottery draw on this planet! It’s an enormous occasion, and everybody will get very enthusiastic about how a lot cash they might win.
Christmas Day Traditions within the Spanish Talking World
Christianity is necessary to many Hispanic households. It’s custom for a household to eat a giant Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, after which go to la Misa del Gallo, which implies “Mass of the Rooster” or Midnight Mass.
Why a Rooster? It’s believed the night time Jesus was born, a rooster crowed to mark the start of a “new day”, regardless that it was night time time.
Beléns is the Spanish phrase for Bethlehem, however it represents the nativity scene. Whereas most Spanish houses could have a small nativity scene, giant and grand nativity scenes are arrange in cities. They’re typically immersive, with farms and a complete market accompanying the nativity scene within the secure.
A bit like trick-or-treating and caroling blended collectively, children go round singing Christmas carols for treats. It’s referred to as pedir el aguinaldo (“ask for the Christmas deal with” or “bonus”). Generally the children obtain cash, and generally sweet, for his or her singing. It’s a enjoyable custom to unfold Christmas cheer!
Enjoyable reality: The custom generally will get pushed to the restrict. In reality, in some nations it’s frequent for youngsters to pedir el aguinaldo… at three within the morning! Unsure if I would favor that or waking as much as a home coated in bathroom paper after Halloween.
New 12 months’s Traditions in Spanish Cultures
Ringing within the New 12 months in Spanish-speaking cultures includes lots of fortunate rituals!
Let’s begin with a well-known Spanish one: when the clock strikes twelve, folks will eat 12 inexperienced grapes, referred to as las doce uvas de la suerte, and make a want for each they eat.
It’s necessary to eat all of the grapes inside the first couple of minutes (and even earlier than the tip of the primary minute) of the New 12 months so your needs come true.
In some areas, folks additionally eat lentils proper after midnight or for lunch the subsequent day. Lentils are small and spherical like cash, so they carry in prosperity! However others choose to carry actual cash at midnight in hopes the New 12 months might be crammed with wealth.
As in different cultures, it’s frequent to drink champagne at midnight. However normally, the champagne is flavored to deliver a sure sort of luck within the New 12 months. As an example, put strawberries in your champagne to draw love, or a gold ring to draw wealth.
You wish to be sure that to drag it out of the glass if you’re executed, so it comes true.
One other frequent Spanish custom is to put on yellow. Yellow is a fortunate color in Spain and different Hispanic nations, so it’s typically worn on New 12 months’s Eve.
However, for those who’re searching for love, you should put on crimson underwear given to you by another person. Unusual because it sounds, crimson underwear means luck in love within the New 12 months, however provided that it was a present.
And when the clock strikes midnight, stand in your proper foot! This begins the 12 months off “on the fitting foot” – actually – so you could have a very good 12 months.
¡Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo!
Now, go want somebody a Merry Christmas and Joyful New 12 months in Spanish! Attempt speaking concerning the new Spanish holidays you realized, too. Do you know concerning the “pooping log” or the three Clever Males who deliver presents as a substitute of Santa Claus?
If you’ll take a look at out some conventional hispanic methods to unfold the Christmas cheer or deliver some good luck into your New 12 months, share it with me on social media. Discover me on Instagram (@irishpolyglot), TikTok (@irishpolyglot), and Twitter (@irishpolyglot), and tag away!
Wherever you might be on this planet, I hope you could have a ¡Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo!
