How to Say Merry Christmas in Italian

Merry Christmas in Italian is Buon Natale. Two words, easy to write, and the standard Christmas greeting in Italian. If you’re writing to nonna in Calabria or to cousins in Turin, it’s the natural first line. Below you’ll find what it means, the other greetings Italians use through the holidays, and examples of how to put them in a card.

Buon Natale, word by word

• Buon means good. It’s the shortened form of buono, used before most masculine nouns.
• Natale means Christmas. It comes from the Latin for “birth”.

So Buon Natale is literally “good Christmas”. Natale takes a capital letter when it means the feast of Christmas.

To the whole group, you can add a tutti: Buon Natale a tutti! means “Merry Christmas, everyone!”

We don’t write out pronunciations on this page: English respellings of Italian tend to mislead. Ask someone in the family to say it for you; that’s half the pleasure.

Other Italian greetings for the holidays

Season’s greetings

• Buone Feste: “Happy holidays”, literally “good feasts”. It covers the whole season, which in Italy runs until the Epiphany on January 6, so it’s a good choice for a card that might arrive late.
• Auguri!: “Best wishes!” On its own it fits almost any celebration. Tanti auguri is “many good wishes”, and Auguri di buon Natale spells out that they’re Christmas wishes.

Adding the New Year

• Buon anno: “Happy New Year”, short and everyday.
• Felice anno nuovo: “Happy New Year”, a little fuller.
• Buon Natale e felice anno nuovo: “Merry Christmas and a happy New Year”, the classic combined greeting.

Dear, love and kisses

• Cara (to a woman) and caro (to a man): “Dear”, as in Cara nonna (“Dear Grandma”). Carissima mamma is “Dearest Mom (or Mum)”.
• Tanti baci: “lots of kisses”, a warm sign-off for family.
• Baci e abbracci: “kisses and hugs”.
• Ti mando un bacio: “I’m sending you a kiss”.
• Ti voglio bene: “I love you”, the way you say it to family and close friends.
• Mi manchi: “I miss you”, to one person. To several, mi mancate.

Italian, like many languages, changes the ending of caro to match the person: cara for a woman, caro for a man, cari for a group.

How to write it in a card: bilingual examples

You don’t need to write the whole card in Italian. An Italian greeting, your news in English and an Italian sign-off reads beautifully. Under each example is what the Italian means.

1. To a grandmother in Italy

Buon Natale, cara nonna! I made your lasagne for twelve people in New Jersey this year. Nobody believed it was my first try.

Tanti baci, Giulia

Italian parts: “Merry Christmas, dear Grandma!” and “Lots of kisses”.

2. To the whole family

Buon Natale e felice anno nuovo a tutti! The tree is up and the nativity scene is on the piano, same as always.

Italian part: “Merry Christmas and a happy New Year, everyone!”

3. To a mother, from far away

Buon Natale, carissima mamma. Mi manchi, especially when the whole house smells of oranges and cloves. Ti voglio bene.

Italian parts: “Merry Christmas, dearest Mom”, “I miss you” and “I love you”.

4. A card that might arrive after Christmas

Buone Feste! The post office promised December 20 and we’ll see. Either way, we’re thinking of you until the Befana comes.

Baci e abbracci, Marco and Sara

Italian parts: “Happy holidays!” and “Kisses and hugs”.

5. To cousins

Tanti auguri di buon Natale! Next year we’re coming back for Christmas Eve, and this time we’re staying for dessert.

Italian part: “Many good wishes for a merry Christmas!”

6. When you miss the whole family

Mi mancate tutti. Christmas in Chicago is cold and bright, and I keep looking for the mountains out the window.

Buon Natale, Luca

Italian parts: “I miss you all” and “Merry Christmas”.

7. A short one for the New Year

Buon anno! Here’s to a year with more Sunday lunches and fewer time zones.

Ti mando un bacio, Elena

Italian parts: “Happy New Year!” and “I’m sending you a kiss”.

When Italians say it

Buon Natale is the greeting for Christmas Day itself and the days around it. The day before is la vigilia di Natale, Christmas Eve, traditionally a day of preparation, often kept with a meatless meal. Gifts may come from Babbo Natale, Father Christmas. The holidays close with the Epifania on January 6, the feast of the Magi, which is also the day of the Befana. That’s why Buone Feste stays useful well into the new year. New Year’s Day is Capodanno. For the customs themselves, from the nativity scene to the Christmas Eve table, see our guide to Christmas customs in Italy, and our page on the Befana and January 6.

If your family tree branches beyond Italy, our overview of Christmas wishes in many languages has the rest.

Checked by a native speaker

The Italian greetings on this page were checked by a native Italian speaker before publication.

Cards to carry your Buon Natale

The cards in our collection from Italy carry their greeting in Italian, set as text rather than painted in, and your own message goes underneath. The piazza below, with its nativity scene and its pigeons around the frozen fountain, is the newest of them. Send by email or text, or schedule your card for Christmas morning.