It's that time of the year again! Time to get our Christmas decorations out of the box, visit this year's Christmas markets, and prepare some presents.

As the holidays are drawing closer, let's look at some popular words and phrases related to the Christmas season in Chinese.

圣誕
Shèng dàn
Christmas
(lit."holy/saint-to be born")

01. Christmas Holidays

Let's begin by looking at the names of the holidays themselves:

圣誕節(jié)
Shèng dàn Jié
Christmas Day
(lit. "holy / saint-to be born-festival")

平安夜
Píng'ān Yè
Christmas Eve

02. Christmas Characters

圣誕老人
Shèng dàn Lǎo rén
Santa Claus / Father Christmas

馴鹿
xùn lù
reindeer

03. Christmas Items

Now, here are some of the things that come to mind when you think of Christmas. And if you're planning to decorate your house, these could also be the keywords you'd want to search for on Taobao:

圣誕樹
Shèng dàn shù
Christmas tree

禮物
lǐ wù
present(s); gift(s)

圣誕賀卡
Shèng dàn hè kǎ
Christmas card

拐棍糖
guǎi gùn táng
candy cane

圣誕裝飾品
Shèng dàn zhuāng shì pǐn
Christmas ornaments

花環(huán)
huā huán
wreath

圣誕彩帶
Shèng dàn cǎi dài
Christmas garland

04. Christmas Clothing

With Christmas coming soon or happening already, you might need these keywords for Taobao as well:

圣誕毛衣
Shèng dàn máo yī
Christmas sweater

圣誕襪(子)
Shèng dàn wà(zi)
Christmas stockings

圣誕帽
Shèng dàn mào
Christmas hat

05. Christmas Food

Whether or not you've grown up in a country where Christmas is traditionally celebrated, chances are that in China you will join the celebrations - with your foreign and local friends, colleagues, or at Christmas markets.

Here are some of the typical meals and beverages you might come across this season:

圣誕晚餐
Shèng dàn wǎn cān
Christmas dinner

烤雞
kǎo jī
roast turkey

姜餅
jiāng bǐng
ginger cookies

熱紅酒
rè hóng jiǔ
mulled wine

蛋酒
dàn jiǔ
eggnog

05. Christmas Wishes

Now that you're equipped with a lot of Christmas-related Chinese vocabulary, you can also wish your friends and relatives a Merry Christmas in Chinese:

圣誕快樂!
Shèng dàn kuài lè!
Merry Christmas!
(lit. "Christmas-happy/merry")

Source: That's Mandarin
Editor: wanwan