100 French Christmas Terms & Audio Pronunciation

It’s Christmas time! Let’s study lists of French Christmas terms to help you wish a merry Christmas in French to your French friends and discuss your own Christmas traditions!

This free French lesson – like many on French Today’s blog – features audio recordings. Click on the link next to the headphones to hear the French pronunciation.

How do you Say Christmas in French?

The French translation for Christmas is Noël. Noël is masculine in French, but we usually use it without any article.

Did you know Noël was also a popular French first name?

Noël is for a boy, it’s spelled Noëlle (or Noelle) for a girl and they are both pronounced the same way.

Here are more useful French Christmas terms:

1. Noël (Proper name, so usually used without an article, although masculine) = Christmas
2. La veille de Noël – Christmas Eve (don’t mistake “veille”: eve, only one “i”, with “vieille”: feminine adjective for old, two “i”)
3. Le jour de Noël – Christmas day
4. Passer Noël en famille – to spend Christmas with your family
5. Le vingt-cinq décembre – December 25th (here is my article on how to say the date in French)
6. Le vingt-quatre décembre – December 24th – Read my article about when the French celebrate Christmas
7. Joyeux Noël – Merry Christmas
8. Joyeuses fêtes de fin d’année – Happy Holidays
9. Envoyer ses voeux de Noël – to send out Christmas wishes

To learn 10 ways to say merry Christmas in French, I invite you to follow the link to another article I wrote with audio.

French Christmas Vocabulary

Let’s see some generic French Christmas vocabulary:

1. Le Réveillon de Noël – the Christmas meal and party
2. S’embrasser sous le gui – to kiss under the mistletoe
3. Décorer la maison – to decorate the house
4. Faire des cadeaux – Give away gifts
5. Ouvrir des cadeaux – Open presents
6. Je vous souhaite un joyeux Noël et d’excellentes fêtes de fin d’année – I wish you a merry Christmas and excellent holidays

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How do You Say a Christmas Ornament in French?

We don’t really have a word for Christmas ornaments: we would say “les décorations de Noël”.

1. Un sapin de Noël – Christmas tree (note we don’t use “un arbre” but “un sapin” which is ‘a fir tree’)
2. Une boule – ornament (in a ball shape)
3. Une décoration de Noël – Christmas Ornament
4. Une guirlande – garland
5. Une étoile – star
6. Une guirlande électrique / une guirlande lumineuse – string of lights
7. Une couronne – wreath
8. Un bas, une chaussette – stocking
9. Le Père Noël – Santa
10. Un sucre d’orge – candy cane
11. Un bonhomme de neige – snowman
12. Un cadeau – gift
13. Un renne – reindeer
14. De la neige artificielle – fake snow
15. Un pochoir – stencil
16. Un autocollant – sticker
17. Du gui (pronounced hard G + ee) – mistletoe
18. Du houx – holly
19. Une pomme de pin – pine cone
20. Des branches de sapins – fir branches

Here is a video I did in 2019 about Christmas in France. Enjoy!

What Does “La Crèche” Mean in French?

“Une crèche” – a manger in English – features many little figurines, also called “santons” in Provence, representing towns folks as they gather around the stable for the birth of baby Jesus.

The essential characters of “la crèche” are Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, usually a donkey and an ox, sometimes the 3 kings.

1. Une crèche – a manger (the house)
2. Une mangeoire – a manger (where the animals eat)
3. Un santon – typical French manger clay figurine made in Provence
4. La Vierge Marie – the Virgin Mary
5. Joseph
6. Le petit Jésus – baby Jesus – here is my article about expressions using Jesus in French
7. Un âne – a donkey
8. Un boeuf – an ox (note that in France, in the manger is not a cow, but a male ox)
9. Un ange – an angel
10. Les Rois Mages – the 3 Kings – we have a special French King’s cake called La Galette des Rois
11. L’étoile – the star
12. Un berger – a shepherd
13. Un mouton – a sheep
14. Un miracle – a miracle

Would you like to know more about the Christmas Traditions in France? I invite you to follow the link to my article.

More About Christmas in French

1. Dieu – God – here is my article about expressions using God in French
2. Prier – to pray
3. Une prière – a prayer – here is my recording of the Hail Mary in French
4. La messe de Noël – Christmas mass – here is my recording of the French Catholic mass

What About Santa in French?

Did you know France has its own French Santa? He’s Saint Nicolas and he’s at the origin of the Santa Claus legend.

1. Le Père Noël – Santa
2. Le Père Fouettard – Father Flog
3. Saint Nicolas – Saint Nick
4. Un traineau – a sleigh
5. Un renne – a reindeer
6. Un elf – an elf
7. Un cadeau, des cadeaux – gift(s)
8. Une cheminée – a chimney – also a hearth, fireplace
9. Descendre dans la cheminée – to go down the fireplace
10. Écrire une lettre au Père-Noël – to write Santa a letter
11. La liste des gentils enfants – the list of good kids

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33 Scrumptious French Christmas Food

Of course Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a scrumptious French meal! We have lots of special food delicacies for Christmas in France. I invite you to follow the link to the article I wrote about the French Christmas food.

1. Le Réveillon de Noël – the French Christmas meal (not to be mistaken with:
2. “Le Réveillon du Nouvel-An” – New Year’s Eve French meal name)
3. Le dîner de Noël – the Christmas dinner
4. Le déjeuner de Noël – the Christmas lunch
5. Faire un festin – to feast
6. Se régaler – to have a culinary blast
7. Faire la cuisine – to cook
8. Préparer un repas fait maison – to cook an home-made meal
9. L’apéritif – before meal drinks and finger food
10. L’entrée – the first course (apetizers)
11. Le plat principal – the main course
12. Le fromage – cheese (I don’t think that we have a special Christmas cheese in France)
13. Les treize desserts – 13 desserts – a Christmas tradition from Provence
14. La Bûche de Noël – Christmas Yule log cake
15. Mettre une belle table – to set up a pretty table
16. Un centre de table – a center piece decoration
17. Des bougies – candles
18. Plier les serviettes – to fold napkins
19. Des canapés d’apéritif – apetizer toasts
20. Du saumon fumé artisanal – small scale produced smoked salmon
21. Des huîtres – oysters
22. Du foie-gras (frais, poêlé ou en pâté)  – foie gras (fresh, pan-fried or served as a pâté)
23. La volaille – fowl
24. Le gibier – game meat
25. Un rôti – a roast
26. Une farce aux marrons – a chestnut stuffing – note: there is a confusion in French between “un marron” – a horse chestnut which is not edible, and “une châtaigne” which is a sweet chestnut as is edible. We often use “marron” when really, it is “châtaigne” that are being used (for food).
27. Un jambon fumé au feu de bois – firewood smoked ham
28. Un jus de viande – gravy
29. Des bredele – typical Alsacien cookies baked at Christmas time
30. Des truffes au chocolat – chocolate truffles
31. Des marrons glacés – candied chestnuts
32. Des marrons chauds – roasted chestnuts
33. Du vin chaud – spiced wine

For the Holidays, Olivier and I recorded a realistic French Christmas dialogue to introduce you to both the French traditions and precise vocabulary used in France around Christmas and the Holidays. Great to practice your French!

If you enjoy learning French language and culture in context, check out French Today’s downloadable French audiobooks: French Today’s bilingual novels are recorded at different speeds and enunciation, and focus on today’s modern glided French pronunciation.

Joyeux Noël, et Bonne année !