Learning How to Say Merry Christmas in Hawaii So Easy With This Guide

Christmas in Hawaiʻi looks a little different: palm trees wrapped in lights, Santa in an aloha shirt, and carols sung with a ukulele. If you’ve ever wondered how to say Merry Christmas in Hawaiian, the short answer is:

Mele Kalikimaka

But this phrase is more than just a cute line from a song. In this guide, we’ll explain how do you say Merry Christmas in Hawaiian, what Mele Kalikimaka means in the Hawaiian language, where it comes from, how it became famous, and a few other simple Hawaiian Christmas greetings you can use.

🎄 How to Say Merry Christmas in Hawaii?

The most common way to say Merry Christmas in the Hawaiian language is:

Mele Kalikimaka – Merry Christmas

You’ll also hear a longer, very popular holiday greeting:

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

So if someone asks you, “How do you say Merry Christmas in Hawaiian?”, you can answer with confidence:
👉 “You say Mele Kalikimaka.”

🎄 What Does “Mele Kalikimaka” Mean?

“Mele Kalikimaka” is not a word-for-word translation of “Merry Christmas”. Instead, it’s how “Merry Christmas” was adapted into Hawaiian sounds.

Traditional Hawaiian language has:

• 5 vowels: a, e, i, o, u
• 8 consonants: h, k, l, m, n, p, w, and ʻokina
• No r, s, or t sounds like in English

So when English speakers said “Merry Christmas”, Hawaiian speakers reshaped it to fit their sound system:

• “Merry” → Mele (the “r” sound becomes “l”)
• “Christmas” → Kalikimaka (the “kris-mas” sounds are adapted using “k” and vowels)

This is why ‘Merry Christmas’ in Hawaiian sounds so different. You’re still expressing “Merry Christmas”, but in a way that follows Hawaiian pronunciation and rhythm.

Same feeling, different sound, and very uniquely Hawaiian.

🎄 The Origin of Mele Kalikimaka

Before Christmas: Makahiki Season

Long before anyone said Mele Kalikimaka in Hawaiʻi, Native Hawaiians celebrated Makahiki – a several-month season of peace and thanksgiving that usually started in mid-November.

During Makahiki:

• People honored Lono, the god of fertility and agriculture.
• Warfare and major conflicts were paused.
• Communities celebrated with feasting, hula, storytelling, and games.

Makahiki was the Hawaiian New Year and had a similar spirit to Christmas: gratitude, rest, and community.

When Christmas Came to Hawaiʻi

Christmas itself arrived later, with Western sailors and missionaries in the late 1700s and 1800s:

• One of the earliest recorded Christmas celebrations in Hawaiʻi was in 1786, when Captain George Dixon and his crew marked the day in the islands.
• In the 1800s, under missionary influence, Christmas became more widely recognized and slowly blended into local life.

As Hawaiians embraced the holiday, they naturally needed a way to say “Merry Christmas” in Hawaiian. That’s when the adapted phrase “Mele Kalikimaka” began to appear.

The phrase “Mele Kalikimaka” first appeared in print in 1904 in the Hawaiian-language newspaper Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. From there, it gradually became part of everyday conversation, church services, and eventually popular music.

🎄 How “Mele Kalikimaka” Became Famous?

If you grew up hearing “Mele Kalikimaka” in a song, you’re not imagining it.

In 1949, songwriter R. Alex Anderson wrote the Hawaiian Christmas song “Mele Kalikimaka”. He wanted a Christmas song that actually matched Hawaiʻi’s sunshine, ocean, and palm trees – something different from snowy carols.

A year later, in 1950, Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters recorded the song, and it became a Christmas classic. Since then:

• The song has played on radios, in malls, and in movies.
• It’s often the first time people outside Hawaiʻi hear the phrase Mele Kalikimaka.

That’s why, today, when people think “how do you say Merry Christmas in Hawaiian?”, many immediately remember the tune of the song as well as the words.

Alternatively, some locals decorate their environment-friendly artificial trees or outdoor palm trees with strings of lights and Hawaiian-themed ornaments, blending traditional Hawaiian Christmas symbols with island flair.

🎄 Other Hawaiian Christmas Greetings & Phrases

If you want to go beyond just one phrase, here are a few simple Hawaiian greetings related to Christmas and the holiday season.

• Mele Kalikimaka
  → Merry Christmas
  Use this any time you’d say “Merry Christmas” in English.
• Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou
  → Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
  Great for cards, messages, or when you won’t see someone again until the new year.
• Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou
  → Happy New Year
  Use this at New Year’s events or after the Christmas period.
• Hauʻoli Lanui
  → Happy Holidays
  A nice, neutral option when you want to wish someone well throughout the festive season.

You don’t have to memorize a long list. If you remember Mele Kalikimaka and Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou, you already have the basics to share warm wishes the Hawaiian way.

🌺 Wrap Up

So, how do you say Merry Christmas in Hawaiian? You say “Mele Kalikimaka”.

Behind that simple phrase is a whole story: the meeting of English and the Hawaiian language, the way sounds were adapted to fit local pronunciation, the history of missionaries and the Makahiki season, and even a famous song that helped carry the words around the world.

Whether you’re visiting the islands, sending a Christmas card, or just adding a touch of Aloha to your holidays, you’re ready to say it the Hawaiian way:

Mele Kalikimaka! 🌺🎄

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Leilani Miller

I am Leilani Miller – I research focusing on Vanuatu – volcanic landscapes, blue holes, coral reefs & rainforests. I have over five years of experience researching and sharing insights on tourism and environmental activism. Explore and experience without limits through my latest article.

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