Teaching Kids How to Say Merry Christmas in Many Languages

Free printables you can use to help teach the kids how to say “Merry Christmas”

in many languages this year? You got it! This is a great way to encourage the kids to learn about other cultures while celebrating the Christmas season. I’m happy to share a number of hands-on, fun resources to help you do just that!

Christmas is one of our favorite holidays! Yours, too? From creating paper chains counting down to Christmas morning, to driving around neighborhoods looking at Christmas decorations, to baking cookie recipes handed down generation to generation, Christmas is the main holiday my kids and I look forward to each and every year.

You know what, though? I’m sure you’re well aware Christmas can be super hectic, too. I always feel like I’m rushing the clock to get all the Christmas gifts purchased and wrapped in between doing what I can to prepare meaningful homeschool lessons.

It’s my hope that the free printables I’m sharing today can help to lower your stress levels as a homeschool parent doing their best to survive thrive during the month of December while incorporating a bit of culture!

Christmas Around the World

It’s always fascinated me to learn how other cultures celebrate the Christmas season. Like, did you know residents of Japan often enjoy a meal of KFC chicken on Christmas day?! Or that Christmas in El Salvador includes a fireworks display?! Or that Ukraine hasn’t always celebrated Christmas on December 25?!

Interesting, right? You could totally go down a total rabbit hole of learning about different cultural customs related to Christmas!

Today, though? Let’s focus on chatting about how to say “Merry Christmas” in different languages. Teaching the kids how to do just this could be a great segue into some deep dives on how Christmas is celebrated around the world!

Merry Christmas in Other Languages

It’s estimated that there are up to 7,000 different languages spoken across the world. Figuring your Christmas lessons would start December 1 and finish December 24…that means you’ll have to teach 291-292 different ways to say “Merry Christmas” each day in order to cover all of them.

This is going to be a long article, so let’s get started.

Ha! Yeah, I’m not going to do that to you. Instead, let’s start with…mmm…48? Teaching the kids 48 different ways to say “Merry Christmas” seems easy enough, right? That’s 2 languages per day!

Now, the free printable that goes along with teaching how to say “Merry Christmas” in other languages covers all of this but, just so you know which languages I’ve specifically included in the resource, I’m happy to share them with you!

Languages Included

Have you ever gone for a ride on the “It’s a Small World” ride either at Walt Disney World or DisneyLand? I know many people say it’s their least favorite ride, but I actually enjoy it! It was one of my Grampa’s favorite Disney rides, too.

After floating through a water, winding around representations of various cultures, the ride ends with a greeting of “goodbye” in various languages. I like to think this ride inspired my “Merry Christmas in Other Languages” printable!

With that said, I’ve included the following languages in this resource:

• English
• French
• German
• Spanish
• Italian
• Dutch
• Portuguese
• Romanian
• Polish
• Swedish
• Czech
• Vietnamese
• Afrikaans
• Welsh
• Yiddish
• Albanian
• Turkmen
• Turkish
• Ukrainian
• Galician
• Greek
• Xhosa
• Zulu
• Hawaiian
• Youruba
• Mongolian
• Western Frisian
• Estonian
• Malagasy
• Finnish
• Somali
• Irish
• Arabic
• Hindi
• Hungarian
• Icelandic
• Indonesian
• Russian
• Samoan
• Serbian
• Japanese
• Bulgarian
• Korean
• Sundanese
• Croatian
• Latin
• Luxembourgish
• Filipino

Learning Activities

There are so many different ways to learn about the various cultural celebrations surrounding our favorite December holiday! From making (and tasting) different foods to singing songs and playing games, learning how other cultures celebrate Christmas is a great way to get the kids to appreciate the world around them.

I’ll share a few ideas to get you started, ok? Some of these activities are included in the printable while others can be super easy to prep on your own. I’d love to hear about your cultural holiday traditions, though, so definitely leave a comment!

Bookmarks

I’m all about including fun bookmarks into our days! Bookmarks do SO much more than “just” saving our page in a book – they can help encourage kids to read allowing them to explore different worlds from the comfort of their own home.

In the printable you can request below, though? I’ve included multiple printable bookmarks that can be used in your cultural Christmas studies! Each bookmark includes 4 different ways to say “Merry Christmas” and an opportunity to show some artistic creativity! They’re all color-in bookmarks, so the kids will get the benefit of some hands-on fun as well.

The printable bookmarks are super easy to use, requiring nearly no prep time on your end. Just print, color, cut, and they’re good to go! For extended use & durability, they could certainly be laminated, but that’s optional.

Memory Game

Did you know that there are at least 25 different ways to play memory games?! Wild, right?

Well, the “Merry Christmas in Many Languages” printable includes a memory game for the kids where they can match the greeting with the language. This could be a nice activity to do after the kids are familiar with the different languages.

The printable memory game does require some prep, but I’ve found memory games to be worth the effort! Just print & cut (I’d laminate, too but, again…totally optional), the kids will be playing Merry Christmas Memory soon after you get access to the printable!

Songs

I can put on a pretty impressive car concert while the radio plays my favorite songs from my childhood (hello, Backstreet Boys!), but I am cut out for actually writing songs.

Luckily, there are approximately a bajillion Christmas songs out there (actual fact…maybe) that you can already access almost immediately.

I did a quick look and found a few songs teaching how to say Merry Christmas in many languages on YouTube:

• We Wish you a Merry Christmas in Different Languages (Volume 1)
• We Wish you a Merry Christmas in Different Languages and Sign Language (Volume 2)

In addition to listening to songs, Google has a neat (free) translator tool allowing users to hear the pronunciation of language. This could certainly come in handy when learning the different ways to say Merry Christmas around the world.

Coloring Pages

Did you know that coloring activities can aid in memory and learning?! Print out our “Merry Christmas in Many Languages” coloring pages in this article, or in the Printable Playground, and let the kids color to their heart’s content!

Get the Printable

To get your hands on the “Merry Christmas in Other Langauges” printable, you have two options:

1. Head on over to the Printable Playground to request access to my ever-growing collection of free printables.
2. Fill out the form below to have the PDF file sent straight to your inbox. This will also get you access to the Printable Playground, but you’ll have to either request the password through option 1 or wait for a newsletter to arrive with the current password.

Either way, I think you and the kids will have a great time learning with my printable set. Not only does it include the bookmarks and memory game, but I’ve also included a few Christmas-themed writing prompts and a Christmas-themed reading log.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you and your family have a Christmas season filled with wonderful new memories, including learning how to say “Merry Christmas” in many languages, and that you can benefit from the resources I’ve provided here today and throughout the rest of the blog.

Until next time, stay safe and enjoy quality time with your family,