We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

The supermarket shelves have been stacked with mince pies for months, the carol muzak is beginning to wear out, and the decorations have been in the mall so long nobody notices them any more. It must be time for Christmas!! Somehow, despite the advanced warning and good intentions, those cards you bought weeks ago are still waiting to be written.

It’d be great to put something clever in them, for your friends from language class or the native speakers you’ve met through the year. Fear not, my posting-deadline challenged friends! Here is a round-up of key festive phrases in Japanese and Mandarin.

Christmas in Japan is very commercially developed, even if the day itself is typically spent working for most Japanese. Since Christmas is an “imported” holiday, katakana is used to write Christmas greetings; “Merry Christmas” is simply written “メリークリスマス” (meri-kurisumasu).

The festivities fit between Emperor Akihito’s birthday (23rd December) and the build-up to New Year (shōgatsu), which is the most important holiday in Japan. Shōgatsu runs from 31st December to 3rd of January. Families gather to celebrate a fresh start with traditional noodles, enka and a visit to a local shrine. Rising before dawn on New Year’s day is considered auspicious, and the rest of the day should be spent free of stress or worry.

To wish someone a good New Year ahead of the holiday, you would write “ 良いお年をお迎えください” (yoi otoshi o omukae kudasai). This would be the best phrase to use in a card. The first time you see someone after New Year, it is customary to greet them with “明けましておめでとうございます” (akemashite omedetō gozaimasu).

Similarly in China, Christmas is largely a commercial exercise. It is a public holiday in the former colonies of Hong Kong and Macau (not so on the mainland). Christmas trees (“trees of light”) are increasingly seen, and international hotels run festive buffets. Children eagerly anticipate a visit from “Christmas Old Man” – “圣诞老人” (shèng dàn lǎo rén).

You can wish someone a Merry Christmas in China by writing “圣诞节快乐” (shèng dàn jié kuài lè”. “Shèng dàn” translates as “holy birth”, while “kuài lè” is happy/merry and jié means holiday (jié is optional). Happy (western) New Year translates as “新年快乐” (xīn nián kuài lè).

Chinese New Year (also known as “Spring Festival”) is the biggest holiday in China, and falls on the first day of the first lunar month. To wish someone a happy Spring Festival you would write “过年好” (guò nián hǎo”, or if you saw them during the festival you might greet them with “恭喜发财” (gōngxǐ fācái); “congratulations and be prosperous”!

What are your experiences of the festive season in China or Japan? Why not let us know by sending a comment?

Last but not least, here’s a little festive “viral” from J-blogger Fat Blue Man!

Seasons greetings, everyone!

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