Indonesia doesn’t exactly come to mind when you think of countries that celebrate Christmas, as 85% of the population are Muslim. That being said, about 10% are Christians, which amounts to about 20 million people. Plenty of people go to mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and it’s not hard to find Christmas trees or carols in shopping malls all across the archipelago nation. The government even throws an annual Christmas celebration and broadcasts it on TV. Other popular Christmas movies such as “Home Alone” are also commonly shown this month.
Image by faungg’s photo from www.flickr.com
To help get you in the holiday spirit by talking about this holiday in Indonesian, here are 20 useful Christmas vocabulary words:
Malam Natal – Christmas Eve
Hari Natal – Christmas
Selamat Natal – Merry Christmas
pohon Natal – Christmas tree
hiasan – decoration
angkaian bunga bundar – wreath
Kristen – Christian
Yesus Kristus – Jesus Christ
gereja – church
misa tengah malam – midnight mass
Sinterkals – Santa Claus
peri – elf
kereta luncur – sleigh
rusa kutub – eindeer
hadiah – gift/present
kaus kaki – stocking
lagu-lagu Natal – Christmas carols
rumah gingerbread – gingerbread house
per men tongkat – candy cane
manusia salju – snowman
Practice your listening skills by watching this Christmas special from last year:
If that’s too much, then just watch this playlist of Christmas carols in Indonesian. The videos are set up like karaoke so you can even follow along and try to sing in Indonesian!
Sasha is an English teacher, writer, photographer, and videographer from the great state of Michigan. Upon graduating from Michigan State University, he moved to China and spent 5+ years living, working, studying, and traveling there. He also studied Indonesian Language & Culture in Bali for a year. He and his wife run the travel blog Grateful Gypsies, and they're currently trying the digital nomad lifestyle across Latin America.
