Mandarin Chinese Christmas Vocabulary

Christmas  is not an official holiday in China, so most offices, schools, and shops remain open. Nonetheless, many  people still get into the holiday spirit during the Yuletide, and all the trappings of Christmas can be found in China,  Hong  Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.   Additionally, many people in recent years have begun celebrating Christmas in China. You can see Christmas decorations in department stores, and the custom of exchanging gifts is becoming more popular—especially with the younger generation. Many also decorate their homes with Christmas trees and ornaments. So, learning Mandarine Chinese Christmas vocabulary can be helpful if you plan to visit the region. Two Ways to Say Christmas There are two ways to say â€Å"Christmas† in Mandarin Chinese. The links provide a transliteration of the word or phrase (called  pinyin), followed the word or phrase written in  traditional Chinese  characters, followed by the same word or phrase printed in simplified Chinese characters. Click on the links to bring up an audio file and hear how to pronounce the words. The two ways to say Christmas in Mandarin Chinese are  shà ¨ng dà  n jià © (è â€"è ªâ€¢Ã§ ¯â‚¬ traditional Ã¥Å" £Ã¨ ¯Å¾Ã¨Å â€š simplified) or  yÄ“ dà  n jià © (è€ ¶Ã¨ ªâ€¢Ã§ ¯â‚¬ trad è€ ¶Ã¨ ¯Å¾Ã¨Å â€š simplified). In each of the phrases, the final two characters (dà  n jià ©) are the same. Dà  n refers to birth, and jià © means â€Å"holiday.† The first character of Christmas can be either shà ¨ng or yÄ“. Shà ¨ng translates as â€Å"saint† and yÄ“ is a phonetic, which is used for Jesus yÄ“ sÃ… « (è€ ¶Ã§ ©Å' traditional è€ ¶Ã§ ¨ £ simplified). Shà ¨ng dà  n jià © means â€Å"the birth of a saint holiday† and yÄ“ dà  n jià © means â€Å"the birth of Jesus holiday.† Shà ¨ng dà  n jià © is the more popular of the two phrases. Whenever you see shà ¨ng dà  n, though, remember that you can also use yÄ“ dà  n instead. Mandarin Chinese Christmas Vocabulary There are many other Christmas-related words and phrases in Mandarin Chinese, from Merry Christmas to poinsettia and even gingerbread house. In the table, the English word is given first, followed by the pinyan (transliteration), and then the traditional and simplified spellings in Chinese. Click the pinyan  listings to hear how each word or phrase is pronounced. English Pinyin Traditional Simplified Christmas shng dn ji Christmas y dn ji Christmas eve shng dn y Christmas eve ping n y Merry Christmas shng dn kui l Christmas tree shng dn sh Candy Cane gui zhng tng Christmas presents shng dn l w Stocking shng dn w Poinsettia shng dn hng Gingerbread house jing bng w Christmas card shng dn k Santa Claus shng dn lo rn Sleigh xu qio Reindeer m l Christmas carol shng dn g Caroling bo ji yn Angel tin sh Snowman xu rn Celebrating Christmas in China and the Region While most Chinese opt to overlook Christmas’s religious roots, a sizable minority do head to church for services in a variety of languages, including Chinese, English, and French. There are  approximately 70 million practicing Christians in China as of December 2017, according to  the Beijinger, a monthly entertainment guide and website based in Chinas capital. The figure represents only 5 percent of the countrys total population of 1.3 billion, but its still large enough to make an impact. Christmas services are held at an array of state-run churches in China and at houses of worship throughout Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. International schools and some embassies and consulates are also closed on Dec. 25 in China. Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and Boxing Day (Dec. 26) are public holidays in Hong Kong, so government offices and businesses are closed. Macau recognizes Christmas as a holiday and most businesses are closed. In Taiwan, Christmas coincides with Constitution Day (è ¡Å'æ† ²Ã§ ´â‚¬Ã¥ ¿ µÃ¦â€" ¥). Taiwan used to observe Dec. 25 as a day off, but currently, as of March 2018, Dec. 25 is a regular working day in Taiwan.