Common Arabic Phrases > Merry Christmas in Arabic
Merry Christmas in Arabic is عيد ميلاد مجيد (ʿid milad majid), "glorious feast of the Nativity". Arab Christians use it on cards and in person, and the usual answer is the same words back. You will also hear عيد ميلاد سعيد (ʿid milad saʿid), "happy feast of birth", and in Lebanon the short milad majid.
Make a Christmas card with it below. Pick a wish, add a name in English or Arabic letters, choose a design and download the PNG. Every wish in the list is one our Arabic wishes for every occasion already uses, or one cited in the table further down.
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Transliteration here follows that wishes page: ʿ is the letter ع, a squeeze in the throat, ʾ is a glottal stop, and kh is the ch of Scottish loch. Forms said to one person are masculine unless the row gives the others.
Christmas wishes in Arabic, and the reply each one expects
The wish heard everywhere is ʿid milad majid, answered with the same words. The Lebanese rows have replies of their own. The standard forms come from the Lebanese Arabic Institute's Christmas and New Year page, the Lebanese rows from Hiba Najem's guide to Lebanese holiday greetings, and the replies from the institute's holiday greetings lesson.
| Where | Arabic | Transliteration | Meaning | Expected reply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everywhere | عيد ميلاد مجيد | ʿid milad majid | glorious feast of the Nativity | the same back |
| Everywhere | عيد ميلاد سعيد | ʿid milad saʿid | happy feast of birth; also happy birthday | shukran, thank you |
| Everywhere, on a card | ميلاد مجيد وعام سعيد | milad majid wa ʿam saʿid | a glorious Nativity and a happy year | a card line; no spoken reply |
| Church and family | وُلد المسيح | wulida l-Masih | Christ is born | halleluya هللويا hallelujah |
| Lebanon | ميلاد مجيد | milad majid | glorious Nativity | the same back |
| Lebanon | نْشاء الله بْيِنْعاد عَليك | nshaʾ llah byinʿad ʿalek (to a woman: ʿalayki; to a group: ʿalaykun) | God willing, may it come round to you again | w-ʿalek وعَليك and to you |
| Lebanon and the Levant | كل عام وإنت بخير | kill ʿam w-inta b-khayr | well every year | w-inta b-alf khayr وإنت بألف خير and you a thousand times well |
Use the first three anywhere. They are Modern Standard Arabic, so they read correctly on a card sent to Cairo, Beirut or Baghdad. Hiba Najem gives milad majid wa ʿam saʿid as the formal Christmas-and-New-Year line, and wulida l-Masih with its answer halleluya, which pairs the way al-Masih qam and haqqan qam do at Easter. She also lists yinʿad ʿalek for Christmas; the institute gives the fuller form with nshaʾ llah and its reply. The last row is the Levantine form of kull ʿam wa antum bi-khayr, the wish for any yearly feast.
For Egypt, Iraq, the Gulf and the Maghreb, we found no published Christmas wish that differs from the standard ones, so use the first three rows there. Egyptians add the all-purpose kull sana w-inta tayyib, which the Lisaan Masry list of courtesy formulas files under feasts; our six-month Egyptian Arabic plan covers the dialect. The Lebanese rows belong to Levantine Arabic, and our map of where each Arabic dialect is spoken shows how far it reaches.
What ʿid milad majid means, word by word
ʿId milad majid means "glorious feast of the Nativity": ʿid is a feast, milad is birth, and majid is glorious. The same ʿid starts ʿid mubarak, and the same milad is in ʿid milad saʿid, happy birthday.
The definite article al- separates Christmas from a birthday. The Lebanese Arabic Institute notes that Christmas is عيد الميلاد (ʿid al-milad), "the feast of the birth", while ʿid milad without the al- is any birthday. That is why ʿid milad saʿid works for both, and why majid, the word for something glorious, marks the Christmas wish.
Milad also names the calendar. Wiktionary's entry for miladi gives ميلادي (miladi) as "of the birth of Christ", the word for the Gregorian calendar and for AD, written م after a year. So the Western New Year is ras as-sana al-miladiyya, and its wishes are on our page about how to say Happy New Year in Arabic.
When Arab Christians celebrate Christmas: 25 December or 7 January
Most Arab Christians celebrate on 25 December, and Egypt's Copts on 7 January. The split follows the calendar each church keeps. Wikipedia's Christmas article lists the dates by church, and its list of public holidays in Egypt gives Coptic Christmas as 7 January, 29 Koiak in the Coptic calendar.
| Date | Calendar | Churches |
|---|---|---|
| 25 December | Gregorian | Western churches (Catholic, Protestant) and part of the Eastern churches |
| 6 January | Gregorian | the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Evangelical Church |
| 7 January | 25 December of the old Julian calendar | most Oriental Orthodox churches, including the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, and part of the Eastern Orthodox churches |
So a wish sent to a Coptic friend on 25 December arrives early. Send ʿid milad majid on 7 January instead, the day Egypt also has its public holiday. The card maker above works for either date.
Saying Merry Christmas as a Muslim, or to one
Muslim scholars disagree on whether a Muslim may wish Christians a merry Christmas, and we do not take a side. Egypt's official fatwa body, Dar al-Ifta, answered a question that named Christmas by ruling that a Muslim may congratulate non-Muslims on their festivals. The Islam Q&A fatwa site rules the opposite. Our page on Arabic birthday wishes cites the same Dar al-Ifta fatwa.
A Muslim who wants a warm wish that names no feast can say كل عام وأنتم بخير (kull ʿam wa antum bi-khayr), "may you be well every year", which works for Christmas, Eid and a birthday alike. A Muslim who is wished ʿid milad majid and does not celebrate can answer shukran, thank you.
The greeting for the two Islamic feasts is Eid Mubarak, with a card maker of its own, which shares only its first word, ʿid, with the Christmas wish. For the wishes people swap at other events in the year, see our list of common Arabic phrases and greetings.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say Merry Christmas in Arabic?
Say ʿid milad majid (عيد ميلاد مجيد), glorious feast of the Nativity. It is the standard Christmas wish in written and spoken Arabic. ʿId milad saʿid (عيد ميلاد سعيد), happy feast of birth, is also used, and in Lebanon people often shorten the wish to milad majid. On a card, milad majid wa ʿam saʿid adds a happy new year.
Can Muslims say Merry Christmas in Arabic?
Scholars disagree, and we do not rule on it. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta, answering a question that names Christmas, rules that a Muslim may congratulate non-Muslims on their festivals. Islam Q&A rules the opposite. Muslims who want a wish that names no feast use kull ʿam wa antum bi-khayr, may you be well every year.
How do you reply to Merry Christmas in Arabic?
Say the same words back: ʿid milad majid. In Lebanon, kill ʿam w-inta b-khayr is answered w-inta b-alf khayr, and you a thousand times well, and nshaʾ llah byinʿad ʿalek is answered w-ʿalek, and to you. Anyone who does not celebrate can simply say shukran, thank you.
Is Eid Mubarak like saying Merry Christmas?
Both start with the same word, ʿid, a feast. Eid Mubarak, blessed feast, is the greeting for the two Islamic Eids. The Christmas greeting is ʿid milad majid, and Christmas itself is ʿid al-milad, the feast of the Nativity. Without the al-, ʿid milad means a birthday.
When do Arab Christians celebrate Christmas?
Most on 25 December. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt celebrates on 7 January, which is 29 Koiak in the Coptic calendar and a public holiday in Egypt. Churches that keep the old Julian calendar also celebrate on 7 January, and the Armenian Apostolic Church on 6 January.