The short answer: Nollaig chridheil is how you say Merry Christmas in Scottish Gaelic. If you write in Scots instead, the greeting on Scots-language cards is A Blithe Yule. Below we cover both, the longer card wording that adds the New Year, and which line suits which person.
Merry Christmas in Scottish Gaelic
The word for Christmas is Nollaig, and the greeting most dictionaries and phrase lists give is Nollaig chridheil. You will see it in the Omniglot Scottish Gaelic phrase list, on the Gaelic Books Council Christmas cards, and in the Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic (DASG) at the University of Glasgow. A few printers still use the older spelling Chrìdheil with a grave accent, so do not be thrown if you see both.
It works for friends, family and neighbours, written or spoken.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in Gaelic
Most Gaelic cards carry both wishes together: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr. That is the exact wording on the Gaelic Books Council’s Merry Christmas and Happy New Year card, and it means Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Bliadhna mhath ùr on its own is the Gaelic Happy New Year, so you can keep it for a card that arrives after the 25th.
Pairing the two makes sense in Scotland. After the Reformation, Christmas was kept quietly for a long time, and Hogmanay on 31 December was the big celebration. Christmas has caught up since, but the habit of wishing both in one line stuck.
Merry Christmas in Scots: A Blithe Yule
Scots and Scottish Gaelic are two different languages, and each has its own greeting. In Scots, Christmas is Yule, and the message you see on modern Scots cards is A Blithe Yule (Happy Christmas), as the Scots Language Centre describes. Dictionary.com’s list of Christmas greetings around the world gives “a blithe yule” for Scots too.
The greetings at a glance
| Say or write | Language | Means | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nollaig chridheil | Scottish Gaelic | Merry Christmas | Any Christmas card or message |
| Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr | Scottish Gaelic | Merry Christmas and a happy New Year | Cards that go out before the 25th |
| Bliadhna mhath ùr | Scottish Gaelic | Happy New Year | Hogmanay and early January |
| A Blithe Yule | Scots | Happy Christmas | A card written in Scots |
How to say it out loud
Gaelic spelling and sound do not line up the way English does, and the ch and dh sounds are the tricky part. We would rather you hear a speaker than trust our spelling of the sounds, so use the free LearnGaelic dictionary and listen to the audio there.
Frequently asked questions
What is Merry Christmas in Scottish Gaelic?
It is Nollaig chridheil. For a card that also wishes a happy New Year, write Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr.
Is Scots the same as Scottish Gaelic?
No. Scots is a Germanic language related to English, and Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language related to Irish. They have separate greetings: Nollaig chridheil in Gaelic and A Blithe Yule in Scots.
What does Yule mean in Scotland?
Yule is the Scots name for Christmas. It was the word used before the Reformation, and Scots speakers still use it on cards today.
What is Happy New Year in Gaelic?
It is Bliadhna mhath ùr. Our Hogmanay lines page has more New Year wishes in Scots, Gaelic and the words of Burns.
Which Christmas line should we put in a card?
Pick the language the person feels at home in, then keep it short. A Gaelic greeting with one sentence of your own underneath reads better than a long verse.
Send one as a free Scottish card
We checked each greeting against published sources, and you can copy them from our Scottish Christmas lines page, then send one as a free Scottish card in a minute. The sooner the card list is written, the less December squeezes it.
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