USA Holidays in Spanish: Holiday Names, Greetings & Wishes

 Learning Spanish becomes much more interesting when you connect it with things you already know.

Holidays are a perfect example.

You already know Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Now imagine being able to talk about these familiar holidays in Spanish.

In this guide, you'll learn the Spanish names for four popular USA holidays, how to use them in simple sentences, and useful Spanish holiday greetings and wishes you can actually use in conversations, messages, cards, and social media posts.

Whether you're a complete beginner or simply want to build your everyday Spanish vocabulary, this is an easy place to start.

USA Holidays in Spanish

Here are the four holidays covered in this guide:

  • 🎃 October 31 — La Noche de Brujas — Halloween

  • 🦃 November 26 — Día de Acción de Gracias — Thanksgiving

  • 🎄 December 25 — La Navidad — Christmas

  • 🎉 January 1 — El Año Nuevo — New Year's Day

Let's look at each one in a simple way.

🎃 October 31 — La Noche de Brujas

La Noche de Brujas is a Spanish expression used for Halloween.

  • 🇪🇸 Spanish: La Noche de Brujas

  • 🇬🇧 English: Halloween

  • 📅 Date: October 31

The literal idea behind Noche de Brujas is "Night of Witches."

You'll also come across Halloween in Spanish-speaking communities because the English word is widely recognized. However, La Noche de Brujas is a useful Spanish expression to know.

Easy Spanish sentences

Feliz Halloween.
Happy Halloween.

¡Feliz Noche de Brujas!
Happy Halloween!

Me encanta Halloween.
I love Halloween.

¿Qué vas a hacer en Halloween?
What are you going to do on Halloween?

Los niños van a pedir dulces.
The children are going to ask for candy.

If you're learning Spanish for everyday conversation, these short sentences are more useful than memorizing a long definition.

🎃 Halloween vocabulary

  • la calabaza — pumpkin

  • el disfraz — costume

  • los dulces — candy

  • el fantasma — ghost

  • la bruja — witch

  • el murciélago — bat

  • la fiesta — party

A simple sentence such as Me gusta mi disfraz means "I like my costume."

🦃 November 26 — Día de Acción de Gracias

Thanksgiving is known in Spanish as Día de Acción de Gracias.

  • 🇪🇸 Spanish: Día de Acción de Gracias

  • 🇬🇧 English: Thanksgiving

  • 📅 Date: November 26

Notice the accents:

Día has an accent on í.

Acción has an accent on ó.

These accents are important in written Spanish.

Easy Spanish sentences

Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias.
Happy Thanksgiving.

¿Qué vas a hacer para Acción de Gracias?
What are you going to do for Thanksgiving?

Voy a pasar el día con mi familia.
I'm going to spend the day with my family.

Vamos a cenar juntos.
We're going to have dinner together.

Estoy agradecido por mi familia.
I am grateful for my family.

For a female speaker, agradecida can be used instead of agradecido.

🦃 Thanksgiving vocabulary

  • el pavo — turkey

  • la familia — family

  • la cena — dinner

  • la comida — food

  • dar gracias — to give thanks

  • agradecido / agradecida — grateful

  • reunirse — to get together

One particularly useful phrase is:

Estoy agradecido por todo.
I am grateful for everything.

It's simple, natural, and useful beyond Thanksgiving too.

🎄 December 25 — La Navidad

Christmas is La Navidad in Spanish.

  • 🇪🇸 Spanish: La Navidad

  • 🇬🇧 English: Christmas

  • 📅 Date: December 25

This is one of the most useful Spanish holiday words to learn because you'll hear Navidad frequently during the holiday season.

Easy Christmas greetings

¡Feliz Navidad!
Merry Christmas!

Te deseo una Feliz Navidad.
I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Que tengas una Feliz Navidad.
May you have a Merry Christmas.

Felices fiestas.
Happy holidays.

Espero que pases una Navidad maravillosa.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

For a simple Christmas message, ¡Feliz Navidad! is enough. You don't need a complicated sentence to sound natural.

🎄 Christmas vocabulary

  • la Navidad — Christmas

  • el árbol de Navidad — Christmas tree

  • el regalo — gift

  • los regalos — gifts

  • la familia — family

  • la estrella — star

  • las luces — lights

  • Papá Noel — Santa Claus

  • la cena de Navidad — Christmas dinner

You can combine these words into easy sentences:

El árbol de Navidad es bonito.
The Christmas tree is beautiful.

Tengo muchos regalos.
I have many gifts.

Vamos a celebrar la Navidad juntos.
We're going to celebrate Christmas together.

🎉 January 1 — El Año Nuevo

New Year's Day is El Año Nuevo in Spanish.

  • 🇪🇸 Spanish: El Año Nuevo

  • 🇬🇧 English: New Year's Day / New Year

  • 📅 Date: January 1

The spelling is important:

Año has the letter ñ.

Without the ñ, ano means something completely different in Spanish, so make sure you write Año correctly.

🎉 New Year's greetings

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
Happy New Year!

Te deseo un Feliz Año Nuevo.
I wish you a Happy New Year.

Que tengas un excelente Año Nuevo.
May you have an excellent New Year.

Mis mejores deseos para el Año Nuevo.
My best wishes for the New Year.

Espero que tengas un año maravilloso.
I hope you have a wonderful year.

The easiest greeting to remember is:

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

It's short, friendly, and perfect for messages, cards, captions, and conversations.

💬 Essential Holiday Greetings in Spanish

If your main goal is to greet someone during the holiday season, start with these phrases.

🎃 Halloween

¡Feliz Halloween!
Happy Halloween!

¡Feliz Noche de Brujas!
Happy Halloween!

🦃 Thanksgiving

¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Que tengas un hermoso Día de Acción de Gracias.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

🎄 Christmas

¡Feliz Navidad!
Merry Christmas!

¡Felices fiestas!
Happy holidays!

Te deseo una Feliz Navidad.
I wish you a Merry Christmas.

🎉 New Year

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
Happy New Year!

Te deseo lo mejor en el Año Nuevo.
I wish you all the best in the New Year.

Mis mejores deseos para este nuevo año.
My best wishes for this new year.

✨ How to Make Your Spanish Holiday Messages Longer

Once you know the basic greeting, you can add a short wish.

For example:

¡Feliz Navidad! Espero que pases unas fiestas maravillosas con tu familia.

Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your family.

Or:

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Te deseo mucha felicidad, salud y éxito.

Happy New Year! I wish you lots of happiness, health, and success.

You can also personalize the message:

¡Feliz Navidad, Ana! Espero que tengas un día maravilloso.

Merry Christmas, Ana! I hope you have a wonderful day.

This is a great way to move from memorizing vocabulary to actually using Spanish.

📚 Want to Learn More Spanish?

Holiday vocabulary is just one small part of learning Spanish. If you're building your vocabulary and want to become more comfortable making sentences, learning Spanish verbs is an important next step.

Check out our guide:

[Spanish Verb Groups Made Easy: Master AR, ER and IR Verbs in Minutes]

You'll learn about the three major Spanish verb groups — -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs — and how they work in a simple, beginner-friendly way.

Understanding verb groups will make it much easier to talk about everyday activities, plans, people, and experiences.

📝 Quick Holiday Cheat Sheet

Before you go, here's a quick review:

  • 🎃 La Noche de Brujas — Halloween — October 31

  • 🦃 Día de Acción de Gracias — Thanksgiving — November 26

  • 🎄 La Navidad — Christmas — December 25

  • 🎉 El Año Nuevo — New Year's Day — January 1

And the four basic greetings:

  • ¡Feliz Noche de Brujas! — Happy Halloween!

  • ¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias! — Happy Thanksgiving!

  • ¡Feliz Navidad! — Merry Christmas!

  • ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! — Happy New Year!

These four phrases are easy to remember and give you a useful starting point for holiday conversations in Spanish.

🎁 Final Thoughts

You don't need hundreds of Spanish words to start using the language in real situations.

Learning familiar topics like holidays can make Spanish feel much easier because you already understand the situation. Now you simply connect that familiar idea with Spanish vocabulary.

Start with the four holiday names, learn one greeting for each, and then add a few useful words at a time.

By the holiday season, you'll be able to recognize and use expressions such as ¡Feliz Navidad!, ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!, and ¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias! with confidence.

And if you're ready to take the next step, continue with Spanish verbs and learn how -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs work in everyday Spanish.

🎉 Want to learn essential holiday greetings in Spanish? Start with the wishes above and practice them in your next Spanish message!

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