Christmas greetings in six languages

Merry Christmas, as you like it

I finished up my Ottawa cat sit on Monday morning, December 23. Carol (my high-school best friend who lives in Ottawa—say hi to her in the comments!) gave me a ride to the train station. Our conversation as we parted was something like:

“Merry Christmas, or not!” I said to her.

“Merry Christmas, if you want one!” she said back.

We’re all about low-pressure goodwill. Peace on earth can take many forms.

Frohe Weihnachten, a German porter on Via Rail

On the train from Ottawa to Montreal, I heard one of the train attendants speak with a German accent. Whenever I get a chance to bandy about a bit of the old sprachkönnen, I’m on it like a Biene on Honig. So I asked her if she spoke German, and that set us off.