Now that we are getting closer to Christmas Day, the mood is turning more and more festive. If you are visiting a Spanish-speaking country during the Holidays you will hear in Spanish some of the traditional Christmas carols that you learned as a kid. These villancicos, the word for Christmas songs in Spanish, have the exact same melody but the lyrics aren’t a literal translation of the English version. If you are fluent in both English and Spanish, you will notice that most of these songs tell almost the same story but using other words in their Spanish versions.
There are even different Spanish versions of the same song depending on the singer. For example, Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, sung by Mexican singer Luis Miguel is a Christmas love song called Frente a la chimenea and has nothing to with reindeer or Santa Claus.
Here is a list of six all-time favorite Christmas songs with their Spanish versions that you can download for your next party. For each one, I have included the link that will take you to listen to a short demo. More important are the English and Spanish lyrics to compare and follow. As I mentioned before, be aware that the Spanish versions available may be slightly different depending on the artist who sings them.
Christmas Songs in Spanish Classroom Activities
If you are a Spanish teacher, don’t miss our printable Christmas Songs in Spanish Activity Packet that you can download now. It includes class activities around the songs featured here in this post.
6 Traditional English Christmas Songs in Spanish: Lyrics
- Jingle Bells = Cascabel
- Little Drummer Boy = El Tamborilero
- Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer = Rudolfo el reno de la nariz roja
- White Christmas = Blanca Navidad
- Silent Night = Noche de paz
- The Twelve Days of Christmas = Doce días de Navidad
| 1. Jingle Bells
Dashing through the snow In a one-horse open sleigh Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells A day or two ago Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle bells, jingle bells |
Jingle Bells in Spanish: Cascabel
Ha llegado Navidad. La familia alegre está Coro Ha llegado Navidad. Coro |
| 2. Little Drummer Boy
Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum Little Baby, Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum, Mary nodded, Then He smiled at me, |
Little Drummer Boy in Spanish: El Tamborilero
El camino que lleva a Belén baja hasta el valle que la nieve cubrió. Yo quisiera poner a tus pies, El camino que lleva a Belén, |
| 3. Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Then how the reindeer loved him You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Then how the reindeer loved him |
Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer in Spanish: Rudolfo el reno de la nariz roja
Era Rodolfo un reno que tenía la nariz Pero Navidad llegó; Santa Claus bajó Tirando del trineo, fue Rodolfo sensación (Volver a repetir desde el principio) Pero Navidad llegó; Santa Claus bajó Tirando del trineo, fue Rodolfo sensación |
| 4. White Christmas
The sun is shining, the grass is green, But it’s December the twenty-fourth, I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, May your days be merry and bright, |
White Christmas in Spanish: Blanca Navidad
Version 1 Oh, blanca Navidad, nieve. Version 2 Oh, blanca Navidad, nieva |
| 5. Silent Night
Silent night, holy night! Silent night, holy night! Silent night, holy night! |
Silent Night in Spanish: Noche de Paz
Noche de paz, noche de amor. Brilla la estrella de paz, Noche de paz, noche de amor. Noche de paz, noche de amor |
The last song is the hardest and most challenging of all. It is The Twelve Days of Christmas and to sing this one requires some skill and concentration. It looks like there aren’t many people who dare to write something this difficult. The best Spanish version I could find was from the album Feliz Navidad All Your Favorite Christmas Songs in Spanish; even though it was converted extremely well, this one use completely different words to fit in the melody. For example, there are no “three French hens” or “five golden rings” as gifts from true love. That is why, in this particular case, I prefer to share with you the literal translation by Gerald Erichsen.
| 6. The Twelve Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Two turtledoves [And a partridge in a pear tree.] On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me [Four calling birds,] Three French hens, [Two turtledoves] And a partridge in a pear tree. On the fifth day of Christmas, On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Seven swans a-swimming,] Six geese a-laying, [Five golden rings.] Five golden rings [Four calling birds,] Three French hens, [Two turtledoves] And a partridge in a pear tree. [On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Eight maids a-milking,] Seven swans a-swimming,] Six geese a-laying, [Five golden rings.] Five golden rings [Four calling birds,] Three French hens, [Two turtledoves] And a partridge in a pear tree. On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me] [Ten lords a-leaping,] Nine ladies dancing, [Eight maids a-milking,] [Seven swans a-swimming,] Six geese a-laying, [Five golden rings.] Five golden rings [Four calling birds,] Three French hens, [Two turtledoves] And a partridge in a pear tree. On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me] Twelve drummers drumming, Eleven pipers piping, Ten lords a-leaping,] Nine ladies dancing, [Eight maids a-milking, Seven swans a-swimming,] Six geese a-laying, [Five golden rings.] Five golden rings [Four calling birds,] Three French hens, [Two turtledoves] And a partridge in a pear tree. And a partridge in a pear tree. |
The Twelve Days of Christmas in Spanish: Doce días de Navidad
El primer día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El segundo día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El tercer día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El cuarto día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El quinto día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El sexto día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El séptimo día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El octavo día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El noveno día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El décimo día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El undécimo día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó El duodécimo día de Navidad, mi amor me mandó |
Christmas Songs Bilingual Book
If you form part of a multi-cultural family with Hispanic influence, this might be a fun activity to do with your kids that are learning English and Spanish simultaneously. For that, I recommend you check out the book Merry Navidad that includes villancicos from Latin America with English translations.
Do you know more villancicos that may be sung in English and Spanish? Are any of these songs originally from a different language and then translated into English?
Check out these other English Spanish articles.
