Natale, the Italian word for Christmas, comes from the Latin word natalis (“birth”). It refers to the birth of Jesus Christ. Good to Know: If it’s written (like in a greeting card), you’ll often see it written with un: Ti auguro un Buon Natale or Vi auguro un Buon Natale.But, without the un is also grammatically correct. Buon Natale a Te e Tutta La Tua Famiglia

But if you’ve got some free time and love the end of year holidays… Keep me company! As a certified Christmas fan and Italian, let me tell you about Christmas in the Boot. When December comes around, use Buone Feste (“Happy Holidays”) when saying goodbye to people you won’t see before the new year. What would Christmas be without its albero di Natale (“Christmas tree”)? You might also hear of it as the abete di Natale in Italy. Abete is a word to describe trees that belong to the pine family. Besides Milan, other Italian cities have their own Christmas bread. Verona, for example, has the pandoro. Its name is a contraction of pane d’oro (literally “bread made of gold”). Fittingly, the pandoro is golden inside. It has an unusual shape for a cake: it looks like a mountain with a flat top and an eight-pointed star-shaped base. It is usually dusted with iced sugar to look like the Alps in winter.This is the most common Italian Christmas greeting, but there are a few more ways to wish someone a good end of year holiday. How to Say Happy New Year in Italian – Felice Anno Nuovo If attending a Christmas Eve dinner or a Christmas lunch, you wish Buon Natale to the host as soon as you arrive; other occasions of wishing a Merry Christmas are when you exchange gifts and during the toast made at the aperitivo before the Christmas lunch. Usually used in the phrase ti auguro un felice Natale. Translated literally, it’s ‘I wish you a happy Christmas.’ The Italian word felice means happy, and if you want to wish a felice natale to more than one person, you can say vi auguro un felice Natale. Buone Feste

If the holidays are coming and you want two birds with one stone, wish your Italian friends un Buon Natale e un Felice Anno Nuovo (“a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”). “Happy Holidays” in Italian – Buone Feste Give it a rounded shape and lightly press the top of the dough with your hands so as to flatten it slightly. You should get a disc, about 3 cm high and 10 cm in diameter.

May the most beautiful holiday of the year bring peace, love and serenity to your hearts. Merry Christmas! Buone Feste Natalizie (“Good Christmas Holidays”) works as well. I will tell you more about the feste natalizie later in the post. Say “Best Wishes” in Italian – Tanti Auguri During the period from December 26 th (Santo Stefano Day) to December 31 st, Italians don’t wish each other Merry Christmas anymore. As the New Year approaches, the wishes are all about the Anno Nuovo (the new year that is about to arrive). Buon Natale is the most common Italian phrase used to wish someone a Merry Christmas. The Italian term natale comes from the Latin natalem (birth), as part of the sentence natālem Christi (day of birth of Christ). Although Christmas is a religious festivity, today it’s celebrated by almost everyone in Italy, and it has almost entirely lost its religious meaning. Felice Natale

Gesù bambino is often placed in his manger on the night between the 24th and 25th of December. The Re Magi are brought closer to the Infant during the Epiphany. I’ll tell you more about how important this holiday is in Italian culture later in the post. La Messa della Notte di Natale – “The Midnight Christmas Mass”While Italy has a strong Catholic population, not all end of the year holidays celebrated in the Boot are related to the Christian religion. Some examples include Chanukah or la Festa delle Luci (“Hanukkah , literally *the Holiday of Lights”) and *Kwanzaa.

Upset, she promised herself that every year on that same night, she would distribute presents and sweets to all good children as a tribute to the Infant. The naughty ones would get carbon as a punishment for their behavior. What is “Merry Christmas” in Italian? It’s Buon Natale! In Italian, buon means good, so the literal translation of the expression would be “Good Christmas”.Now that you know how to say Merry Christmas in Italian, you’re ready to learn how to organize an Italian Christmas! Or at least learn about a few Italian Christmas traditions.