How to write merry xmas in french

The most common way of wishing merry Christmas in French is to say “joyeux Noël !”. And it’s enough, you don’t have to add anything to it. Just like you could say “Merry Christmas in English and leave it at that. Or you could also make more complex sentences.

Fêtes de fin d'année covers Christmas, New Year, and all the activities that come with it. But you can also use this greeting with people who don’t celebrate Christmas. If you don’t want to risk alienating someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas for whatever reason--religious or otherwise--this is the right way to greet them.

“Christmas” in French is Noël. Noël comes from the Latin word natalis (“birth”). As you’ve probably guessed, it refers to the birth of Christ. Its first recorded use to describe Christmas comes from the 12th century.

Joyeux Noël is a good greeting to use in general, but there are other ways to wish a Merry Christmas. Especially to someone you won’t spend the holiday with. Passe un joyeux Noël (“have a Merry Christmas”, literally “spend a Merry Christmas”) is perhaps the most popular among greetings for people you won’t see before after Christmas.