Since
yesterday was Christmas, I've decided to do a holiday-themed post this week.
Get pumped. Anyway, although Christmas is an international holiday celebrated
by people around the world, the customs and traditions involving Christmas vary
from culture to culture. One of these is how people greet one another on
Christmas. In most English-speaking countries, we exclaim “Merry Christmas!” to
strangers, family, and friends during the Christmas season. Other cultures
speak different languages though, and therefore have different ways and meaning
behind the words they use to greet people during Christmas.
- “Mele Kalikimaka”—Hawaiian,
- “Joyeux Noel”—French
- “Feliz Navidad”—Spanish
- “Buone Feste Natalizie”—Italian
- “Kala Christouyenna”—Greek
- “God Jul” and “Gledelig Jul”—Norwegian
- “Melkin Yelidet Beaal”—Ethiopian
All of these greetings are different ways to say “Merry
Christmas”. Some can be translated literally to say something that isn't exactly “Merry Christmas”, but another festive greeting. For example, the Italian
greeting for “merry Christmas” literally translates to “good
festival/celebration Christmas”, “Have a good celebration of Christmas”. Languages
differ around the world so it is important to be able to understand the
language in order to understand the culture. While it is important to know
other languages if you wish to communicate with other cultures, sometimes it doesn't matter what language you say a greeting like “Merry Christmas” in, it’s
the warmth behind the words that allow you to understand the meaning of those
words.
That's so cool to hear (well, read) all the different languages! This was a good post, very to the point-- I really enjoyed the Greek one. I wish I could speak Greek! I've also heard the Italian way "Buon Natale", like good birth. You can also hear that please at the end of "Dominic the Donkey" haha. It is certainly important and interesting to learn how other cultures celebrate Christmas (and other things). I think it's cool how it's summer in Australia during Christmastime, so they probably barbecue or something haha. Interesting post!:)
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