Are you wondering what the most common French Christmas greetings are? If you have French friends or visit Paris during the holiday season, it is always good to know the appropriate greetings or how to write suitable greeting cards.
You could surprise your friends by learning several Christmas greetings and using different ones depending on the occasion.
There are many variations to saying Merry Christmas in French. People use different sentences to change the meaning slightly depending on the situation and the person being addressed.
The French language covers formal and informal greetings. So it is necessary to differentiate when you want to wish Merry Christmas to friends or family members and when you are addressing older people or strangers.
Here are some of the most common French greetings to use over the holiday season:
When the French say merry Christmas, it is common to wish the best for the new year and refer to the Christmas season. It is common to hear:
Bonnes fêtes de fin d'année -Happy New Year
It is usually said after wishing Merry Christmas. So don't be surprised if your friends don't say Merry Christmas only, but wish you an excellent holiday season too.
On Christmas cards is common to write short sentences wishing others to spend a happy Christmas day, including happy wishes for the entire holiday season.
Here are some things you can write on holiday cards:
It is essential to know some basic words that are likely to be used during Christmas eve or the holidays. It can make your life easier, and you could even start a conversation with others.
Here are some French words likely to be used during the Christmas holidays:
The French Christmas traditions start with the use of the Advent calendar. People, mainly children, use this calendar to count down the days until Christmas eve, on December 24th.
The calendar has several doors or windows that children open each day of the month to get treats behind each door. It is a lovely tradition to have children excited while waiting for Christmas.
In addition, French families will always have a Christmas tree with presents placed under it.
However, all presents should be placed after December 25th, since Santa Claus is supposed to bring the gifts overnight.
Children wake up on Christmas day and happily run to the tree to open their presents.
Another wonderful French tradition is that of writing to Santa.
In France, it is even more special than in other places because kids actually get an answer from Santa.
France has a law in force since 1962 mandating that all kids writing to Santa must get a reply back.
Therefore, it is up to the French postal service to answer them on behalf of Santa Claus.
Isn't it interesting and lovely?
Now that you know the common French Christmas greetings and traditions, you are ready to embark on a journey to France during the festivity. But before that, learn more French and get ready to have amazing conversations with the locals.
If you are into French culture and language, you can become fluent quickly with the Ling App.
Ling is an application that can help you learn French through lessons and videos. You can master pronunciation, verbs, grammar, and much more. But you can have the opportunity of learning other languages, in fact, you can choose between 60+ options.
If you want to know more about French, check out our great blog posts: Happy New Year In French and Basic French Pronouns.
What are you waiting for? Download it from App Store and Play Store for free!
