Christmas Day: Exchanging Christmas greetings and well-wishes

💬 bom plus a meal or event is a handy well-wish: bom jantar "enjoy your dinner", bom fim de semana "have a good weekend".

🇵🇹 Used all through the season, from before Christmas until after New Year. It covers both holidays, so it suits shopkeepers, colleagues and cards.

💬 lhe means "to you" (polite) and is hooked onto the verb with a hyphen. In Portugal it comes after the verb: desejo-lhe, not lhe desejo.

🇵🇹 Wishing saúde is one of the most heartfelt seasonal wishes, especially from or to older people.

💬 The ending follows the speaker, not the listener. Women say obrigada, men say obrigado.

🇵🇹 The easy reply to almost any good wish, whether Feliz Natal, bom almoço or boas festas. It works with anyone, formal or casual.

💬 à is a "to" merged with a "the". Before a masculine word it becomes ao: cumprimentos ao seu marido "regards to your husband".

🇵🇹 A courteous way to wrap up a chat with a neighbour. Asking after someone's family is expected politeness in Portugal.

💬 Portuguese often uses the plain present for something you're about to do: eu digo here means "I'll tell them". Likewise, eu ligo means "I'll call".

🇵🇹 Portuguese people use até logo as a casual goodbye even when they don't expect to see you again that day.

🇵🇹 Means the same as Feliz Natal. It's especially common when tacked onto a goodbye.