Christmas Greeting Guide

Stuck on those Polish Christmas cards greetings? Feel that there’s nothing to add in English to the “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” already in that Christmas card? Here are a few phrases to help. 

Every year I spend hours writing messages in Christmas cards. I don’t see the point in just signing your name under the printed greetings. If you’ve gone to the trouble of buying the card and the stamp, then it’s worth the extra mile to write a personal greeting which is always appreciated.

May your heart be light, your Christmas full of cheer and your New Year bright

Gwiazdki najjaśniejszej, choinki najpiękniejszej,

prezentów wymarzonych, świąt mile spędzonych,

życzy/życzą

Wishing you a Christmas of gladness and joy and to top it off a wonderful New Year

Niech gwiazdka Betlejemska rozświetla Ci/Wam życia mrok,

a Boże Dziecię sprawi że wspaniały będzie Nowy Rok,  

życzy/życzą

Blessings, love, and peace to you this Christmas

Na święta Bożego Narodzenia oraz na nadchodzący Nowy Rok,

dużo radości, dobroci od ludzi i szczęścia rodzinnego

życzy/życzą

  A dash of joy mixed with a touch of peace,  a pinch of magic and a sprinkling of  hope!

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Tobie i wszystkim Tobie najbliższym, życzę/życzymy radosnych i błogosławionych świąt Bożego Narodzenia  oraz radości życia w Nowym Roku

Wishing you a magical Christmas full of excitement and wonder!

Z okazji świąt Bożego Narodzenia życzymy wiele szczęścia, ciepła i radości oraz Bożego błogosławieństwa w przeżywaniu Świąt i całego nadchodzącego roku

Merry Christmas to you and God bless you and your family

with peace and joy for the year to come!

A personally versed card shows gratitude and friendship, it tells someone you care and are thinking of them. Use the time when travelling on trains, buses or at home watching TV.

Christmas cards were started in England in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole. After helping to set-up the newly formed Post Office, he wondered how it could be used more by ordinary people. With his friend John Horsley, an artist, they designed the first card with the greeting “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”. In the decades to come, as printing became cheaper, people started sending the cards, putting them in envelopes first but then sending them as postcards. It spread to the continent and became a tradition in Germany and Poland where in 1900 there was a competition proposed by the writer Henryk Sienkiewicz as to what to call these cards, the winning name being „pocztówka” (postcard).

So let’s keep up that tradition that’s nearly 180 years old and enjoy writing those cards!