Christmas is one of those celebrations that bring family and friends nearer and gives us an opportunity to express our love.

Knowing how to say “Merry Christmas” in another language will help you engage the Christmas season with your foreign friends, that’s why I’ve created a set of flashcards with the most useful words and greetings related to Christmas in Italian, Spanish and French (you can get them by joining the Language Rose Learning club right here).

There are also many online articles that list and describe all the most famous Christmas greetings in the most popular languages, but in this article I’d like to  present a special way to wish a merry Christmas to your foreign friend.

Wishes are most effective when they are personal and heartfelt. However, sometimes it’s hard to say what we really feel in another language (and sometimes this is hard in our native language too!).

So, here’s a strategy to use to give a heartfelt wish in another language that will allow you to find the right words without racking your brains!

I came up with this idea a few years ago, when I was in France. When I left my French host family I wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation for all the things they had done for me. I decided to dedicate them a song in French. The song was “Tout le bonheur du monde”.

I didn’t sing it to them (although I thought about it!), but I gave them a photo with all of us together and wrote on it part of the refrain of the song.

Curious to see the photo? Here it is!

The caption may be translated in the following way: “I wish you all the happiness in the world, for today and for tomorrow. May the sun chase away the shadows and may love shine on you daily”. I know, a bit cheesy but I liked it, and they loved it  too (also they were very familiar with the song).

If you have a special foreign speaking friend who you want to wish a merry Christmas to, you can use this same strategy too.

Remember that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel: if you don’t know how to express your feelings in another language, use a song, a quotation from a book or from someone else’s speech in the target language. As long as you understand the meaning and quote the source, it’s ok to use it.

And if you liked the song “Tout le Bonheur du Monde”, here are the lyrics for your inspiration. If you want to use this song, what about adapting a line or two and rewrite them in the first person singular (e.g. je te souhaite…) like I did? Is there any particular line that may resonate with your friend?

Use your creativity and share your heartfelt Christmas wishes in the language you’re learning in the comments below. I’d love to read them.

 Je te souhaite tout le bonheur du monde,

Ermy***

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