С Рождеством
S Rozhdestvom
С Рождеством (S Rozhdestvom) is the Russian way to say happy Christmas.
С Рождеством is a greeting used to wish someone a joyful Christmas holiday. If you want to wish someone a merry Christmas in advance a few days before the holiday, you can use С наступающим Рождеством.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to 'With Christmas', using the preposition с (with) and the instrumental case of Рождество (Christmas).
How does it change in a sentence?
С Рождеством! is a shortened version of the greeting Поздравляю с Рождеством, which means 'I congratulate [you] on Christmas'.
How do you pronounce it?
S Rozhdestvom
Did you know?
- In many Russian households, the 'New Year' is actually a larger, more festive holiday than Christmas itself due to Soviet-era restrictions on religious celebrations. People often celebrate the arrival of the New Year with much more fanfare than the religious holiday.
- While many Westerners celebrate Christmas on December 25, many Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate it on January 7. This follows the Julian calendar, which is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar used in much of the West.
- During the Soviet period, Christmas traditions were largely moved to New Year's Eve to secularize the holidays. This is why the figure of 'Ded Moroz', or Grandfather Frost, often takes the place of Santa Claus in a Russian winter context.
Examples in context
- С Рождеством!S Rozhestvom!Merry Christmas!
- Я поздравляю тебя с Рождеством.Ya pozdravlyayu tebya s Rozhestvom.I wish you a Merry Christmas.
Example conversation
Two friends are greeting each other during the holiday season.
- Александр AleksandrС Рождеством, Анастасия!S Rozhestvom, Anastasiya!Merry Christmas, Anastasia!
- Анастасия AnastasiaСпасибо, Александр! И тебя тоже.Spasibo, Aleksandr! I tebya tozhe.Thank you, Alexander! And to you too.
- Александр AleksandrКак ты празднуешь?Kak ty prazdnuyesh?How are you celebrating?
- Анастасия AnastasiaПровожу время с семьёй.Provozhu vremya s sem'yoy.I am spending time with my family.
