Christmas Songs in Spanish

But still, nothing makes the holiday season come alive like some traditional Christmas carols. Growing up in California, I learned Spanish versions of favorite holiday songs about as often as the English versions. The beauty of the holidays is that they transcend between cultures, languages, and countries.

Children love to learn carols in different languages, so it would be fun for your family to sing these together during the holidays. Try singing the following songs using the vowel pronunciation guide below, and using the tune from the English versions.

Pronunciation Guide

I can’t guarantee you a perfect accent, but if you know how to pronounce vowels in Spanish, you won’t do too badly singing these songs. Spanish vowels pronunciation:

a – like in mall, wall, fall

e – like in hey, way, today

i – like in tee, fee, me

o – like oh, flow, toe

u – like too, due, true

Now you can wish someone a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year too, in Spanish. This is a simple song that you should be able to pick up quickly. This song translates fairly perfectly into English.

Navidad – Deck the Halls

Navidad, Navidad

Tra, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,

Todo el mundo canta y canta,

Tra, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,

Que alegria, que alegria,

Tra, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,

Todo el mundo canta y canta

Tra, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,

I’m sure you can remember the tra, la, la part! In fact, my favorite part of the English version of Deck the Halls is the fa, la, la part. This Spanish version doesn’t translate literally, but has the same basic ideas: “Todo el mundo canta y canta” translates to “all the world sings and sings.”

Noche de Luz, Noche d Paz – Silent Night

Noche de luz, noche de paz,

Reina ya gran solaz.

Do el niño dormido esta

Mensajero del dios de verdad.

Duerme niño en paz, duerme niño en paz.

Again, this is not a literal translation, but it is difficult to keep the rhythm when you make a perfect translation. The general idea is the same, and you can still sing this to the tune of Silent Night.

This Spanish version is quite a bit different than the English song, but it is fun. Here is the translation:

On the first day my love gave to me a Christmas tree.

On the second day my love gave to me two turkeys.

On the third day my love gave to me three large bugs.

On the fourth day my love gave to me four little worms.

On the fifth day my love gave to me five leaping toads.

On the sixth day my love gave to me six green rats.

On the seventh day my love gave to me seven enemies.

On the eighth day my love gave to me eight socks.

On the ninth day my love gave to me nine ugly fools.

On the tenth day my love gave to me ten fat flies.

On the eleventh day my love gave to me eleven snails.

On the twelfth day my love cage to me twelve cockroaches.

Say what? If I received all of these things as gifts, I would boot my love out the door, how about you?