Sincere
• It's the most wonderful night of the year! Have a marvelously merry Christmas Eve!
• Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Wherever you are and whatever you do, I hope your Christmas Eve is joyous.
• Merry Christmas Eve, all! Hope your stockings are all bursting in the morning (and not with coal).
• Happy Christmas Eve! Hope you have all your Christmas shopping done and can relax by the Christmas tree with a good, strong glass of eggnog.
• Merry Christmas, everyone – and keep your eyes on the sky!
• Wishing everyone a warm, relaxing Christmas Eve surrounded by loved ones. Happy Holidays, all!
• Santa Claus and his reindeer might be zooming around the planet right now, but I hope your Christmas Eve is considerably less stressful. Merry Christmas!
• May your Christmas Eve sparkle, and your Christmas Day shine.
• Welp, my stocking is hung by the chimney with care, so I just wanted to take this moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas Eve. Happy Holidays, everyone!
• Have yourself a merry little Christmas Eve, folks.
Funny
If you're looking to spread a little mirth, here are some humorous Christmas Eve greetings to share. For more laughs, see this list of funny Christmas wishes.
• Merry Christmas Eve! Hope everyone has a great time while Santa is too distracted to notice if you've been bad or good!
• ‘Twas the night before Christmas
And all through my house
Not a creature was sober
Especially my spouse!
• It's Christmas Eve, or as I like to call it, “The Night of Frenzied Shopping.”
• We haven't had a “silent night” since we had kids, but I hope your Christmas Eve is peaceful!
• Merry Christmas Eve! Watch out for falling reindeer poop!
• Hope everyone has a very merry Christmas Eve. Oh, and don't forget to put out the fire in your fireplace before you go to bed!
• Parents of young children, be sure to get to bed early tonight. Because you will be awakened at the butt crack of dawn.
Religious Blessings
• Wishing you a blessed and beautiful Christmas Eve, as we celebrate God's love and the great gift He gave us on the first Christmas.
• Wishing everyone peace, joy, and love on this most holy of nights. God bless you all.
• On this night, our Savior was born. May you feel God's love all around you this Christmas Eve.
Merry Christmas Eve Eve
Finally, here are some holiday wishes for the evening or day before Christmas Eve. Because Christmas, as they say, starts earlier every year.
• Two more days until Christmas! Merry Christmas Eve Eve!
• Merry Christmas Eve Eve! Remember, it's never too early to get your jolly on!
• Happy Christmas Eve Eve! This is the last minute to avoid last minute Christmas shopping.
Of course, another big “eve” is just around the corner. If you're looking for ideas on how to wish everyone a Happy New Year, see this big list.
How to Say Merry Christmas in Italian
The most common and direct way to say Merry Christmas in Italian is Buon Natale
Ti auguro Buon Natale, I wish you a Merry Christmas.
However, there are other expressions that are used as well.
Buone Feste corresponds to the English Happy Holidays and implies best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. You could also say, tanti auguri di buone feste, best wishes for a happy holiday season.
Slightly more formal, used in writing rather than in person: Auguri di un Natale sereno (best wishes for a peaceful Christmas). For example, if you’re sending a card to someone in Italy, you could write: "Auguro a te (or ‘lei’ if you don’t know the person well) e alla tua (‘sua’ if using lei) famiglia un sereno Natale e un felice anno nuovo (I wish you and your family a peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year).
If you want to be fancy and try a slightly longer phrase (why not?!), you could say: Ti auguro un Natale pieno di amore, pace e gioia sincera, My best wishes for a Christmas filled with love, peace and sincere joy.
So now you have a few options for how to say Merry Christmas in Italian, but what about the ‘Happy New Year’ part?
Let’s take a look.
How to Say Happy New Year in Italian
Happy New Year is Felice Anno Nuovo, as in Ti auguro un felice anno nuovo (I wish you a Happy New Year). You use ‘ti’ if you’re talking/writing to one person you know well, ‘le’ if you’re writing to one person you don’t know very well or have a formal relationship with, and ‘vi’ if you’re writing to a group of people, say a family. Le auguro un felice anno nuovo, vi auguro un felice anno nuovo.
You could also use related expressions, such as, Auguri per un felice 2022 – Best wishes for a happy 2022, or Auguri di buon anno, best wishes for a good new year.
How to Write a Christmas Card in Italian
Now let’s put together what we’ve seen so far to write a sample Christmas card so you can wish your loved ones Merry Christmas in Italian.
Caro/a/i/e (Dear – o for male singular, a for female singular, i for plural, e for female plural) – name -,
Ti/Vi (ti for singular, vi for plural) auguro Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!
Con affetto (with love),
-Signature
The version above is the simplest. If you want something fancier, here’s another example.
Carissimo/i ____,
I miei migliori auguri per un Natale pieno di amore e pace, e per tanta gioia, serenità e salute nell’anno nuovo (My very best wishes for a Christmas filled with love and peace and for a New Year filled with joy, serenity and health).
Useful Italian Vocabulary for the Holidays
Now that you’ve learned how to say Merry Christmas in Italian, see below a list of useful words related to the holidays – le feste:
Vigilia di Natale – December 24, Christmas Eve
Santo Stefano – December 26, a national holiday in Italy
San Silvestro – New Year’s Eve
Capodanno o primo dell’anno – New Year’s Day; in Italian, we also use Capodanno to refer to the New Year’s Eve festivities, as in the most common asked question this time of the year: cosa farai a Capodanno? What are you doing on New Year’s Eve?
Epifania – Epiphany, January 6. And of course, Befana, the good witch who arrives on January 6 with sweet treats for children who behaved well, and coal for those who misbehaved. It’s a common joke for female friends in Italy to send each other messages on the day of Epifania to wish to one another, Buona Befana!
Now, without looking at your notes, how do you say Merry Christmas in Italian?
Buon Natale, cari lettori!