The air is getting colder, the streets are filled with colourful lights, the trees are covered in beautiful decorations: that’s right, Christmas is just around the corner!
In Italy, Christmas is everyone’s favourite time of year. Children, in particular, spend Christmas Eve anxiously waiting for Santa Claus, the jolly fellow who has spent the entire year preparing gifts that he will deliver to all the good boys and girls around the world.
It’s a story we’ve all heard or told at some point in our lives…but what if you had to tell it in Italian? No doubt it would all go smoothly until you happened upon a word you don’t know or can’t remember!
To help you talk about the holiday season in Italian and increase your vocabulary, we have decided to share the most common Italian Christmas words in this article. Let us know which ones are new to you in the comment section below!
Italian Christmas Words – People
L’Arcangelo Gabriele – The Archangel Gabriel
Babbo Natale – Santa Claus / Father Christmas
Gesù Bambino – Baby Jesus
Gesù Cristo – Jesus Christ
Giuseppe – Joseph
I Tre Re Magi – the Three Kings
La Befana – The Befana Christmas Witch
La Madonna – the Madonna
Maria – Mary
San Nicola – Saint Nicholas
Santa Lucia – Saint Lucy
Santo Stefano – Saint Stephen
Il Signore – The Lord
Italian Christmas Vocabulary – Nouns
Gli addobbi – Decorations
L’agrifoglio – Holly
L’albero di Natale – Christmas tree
L’angelo – Angel
L’Annunciazione – Annunciation
Il bastoncino di zucchero – Candy cane
Il bicchiere di spumante – A glass of sparkling wine
Il biglietto di auguri – Greeting card
Il bue e l’asinello – The ox and donkey
La calza – Stocking
Il caminetto – Fireplace
Il camino – Chimney
La campana – Bell
La candela – Candle
Il canto natalizio – Christmas carol
Il carbone – Coal
La carta da regalo – Wrapping paper
La castagna – Chestnut
Il cenone – Christmas dinner
Il cenone di Capodanno – New Year’s dinner
Il coro natalizio – Christmas carollers
La caldarrosta – Roasted chestnut
La chiesa – The Church
La culla – Cradle
L’edera – Ivy
L’elfo – Elf
Il fiocco di neve – Snowflake
Il freddo – Cold / coldness
La frutta secca – Dried fruit
La ghirlanda – Wreath
Il giocattolo – Toy
L’inverno – Winter
La luce – Light
Le luci di Natale – Christmas lights
La mangiatoia – Manger
Il mercatino di Natale – Christmas market
La messa di mezzanotte = Midnight mass
Il nastro – Ribbon
Il Natale – Christmas
La neve – Snow
La pace – Peace
La pallina – Ball / bauble
Il pandoro = Italian Christmas cake
Pandoro is a traditional Italian sweet bread dusted with vanilla-scented icing sugar. It is shaped like a frustum with an eight-pointed star section.
Il panettone = Italian Christmas cake
Panettone is an Italian type of sweet bread originally from Milan. It contains candied orange, citron, lemon zest, and dry raisins.
Il Paradiso – Heaven
Il pastore – Shepherd
Il Polo Nord – North Pole
Il pranzo di Natale – Christmas lunch
La preghiera – Prayer
Il presepe – Nativity scene
Il presepe vivente – Living nativity scene
Il puntale – Tree topper
Il pupazzo di neve – Snowman
Il regalo – Gift / present
La renna – Reindeer
La stalla – Stable
La slitta – Sleigh
Il solstizio d’inverno – Winter solstice
La stella – Star
La stella cometa – Shooting star
Il tacchino – Turkey
Il torrone = Nougat
Il vin brulé – Mulled wine
Il vischio – Mistletoe
Italian Christmas Words – Important Holidays
Il Capodanno – New Year’s Day
Il Giorno di Natale – Christmas Day
Il Giorno di Santo Stefano – St. Stephen’s Day / Boxing Day
l’Immacolata Concezione – Immaculate Conception
La Notte di San Silvestro – Night of St. Sylvester
La Vigilia di Capodanno – New Year’s Eve
La Vigilia di Natale – Christmas Eve
Italian Christmas Words – Important Verbs
Addobbare – to decorate
Aspettare – to wait
Brindare – to toast
Cantare – to sing
Decorare – to decorate
Festeggiare – to celebrate
Mangiare – to eat
Pregare – to pray
Italian Christmas Phrases – Important Greetings
Auguri! = Best wishes!
(a catch-all phrase used as a substitute for “Buon Natale!”)
Buon Anno! = Happy New Year!
Buone Feste! = Happy holidays!
Buon Natale! – Merry Christmas!
Felice Anno Nuovo! = Happy New Year!
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
