Wesołych Świąt
/vɛˈsɔ.wɘx ˈɕfjɔnt/
In Polish, "happy Christmas" is expressed as Wesołych Świąt.
Wesołych Świąt is the standard, most common way to wish someone a Merry Christmas in Polish.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "Merry Holidays". The word Wesołych is the adjective meaning "Merry/Joyful", and Świąt is the noun for "Holidays/Feast days".
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase is in the genitive case, which implies an elliptical structure like "[I wish you] Merry Holidays". Specifically, Wesołych is the genitive plural form of wesoły and Świąt is the genitive plural form of święto.
How do you pronounce it?
/vɛˈsɔ.wɘx ˈɕfjɔnt/
Did you know?
- In Poland, the greeting Wesołych Świąt is often accompanied by the sharing of a wafer called opłatek, which people break together before dinner.
- In Poland, it is traditional to wait for the first star to appear in the sky before saying Wesołych Świąt and beginning the Christmas Eve dinner.
- The word świąt shares its root with the Polish word for 'temple' or 'sacred space', emphasizing the spiritual importance of the season.
Examples in context
- Wesołych Świąt!Merry Christmas!
- Życzę wszystkim Wesołych Świąt.I wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
- Wesołych Świąt, kochana mamo!Merry Christmas, dear mom!
Example conversation
Tomasz and Małgorzata are greeting each other during a family dinner.
- TomaszWesołych Świąt, Małgorzato!Merry Christmas, Małgorzata!
- MałgorzataDziękuję, Tomasz! Wesołych Świąt!Thank you, Tomasz! Merry Christmas!
- TomaszWszystkiego najlepszego dla całej rodziny.All the best to the whole family.
- MałgorzataTobie również!To you too!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry Wesołych Świąt, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
