Χρονια Πολλα! - Writing Christmas Cards

A previous post covered the kind of messages you might use at Christmas and see inside a card, but you would also need to add the usual personal comments when sending a card to someone. So here are some greetings and comments to use. And remember a greeting is for life - not just for Christmas, so these can be used where appropriate for all sorts of cards and letters.

In Greece the words equivalent to our "dear" and "dearest" both come from the Greek word for love (αγάπη/ΑΓΑΠΗ).

English	Lower	Upper
Dear	αγαπητ(ή/έ/οί)	ΑΓΑΠΗΤ(Η/Ε/ΟΙ)
Dearest	αγαπημέν(η/ε/οι)	ΑΓΑΠΗΜΕΝ(Η/Ε/ΟΙ)

The endings on these are in the order of Fem/Masc/Plural - note the last one is plural, not Neuter as the recipient of the card will always be either male female or a group - you should never be sending a card to an "it"!
In Greece αγαπημέν(η/ε/οι) - ΑΓΑΠΗΜΕΝ(Η/Ε/ΟΙ) is more often used for the immeadiate close family, whilst αγαπητ(η/ε/οι) - ΑΓΑΠΗΤ(Η/Ε/ΟΙ) would be used for friends and more distant relations.

If the card does not already contain the words you want you can always add them youself (see previous post) and perhaps use "σου/σας έυχομαι..." (ΣΟΥ/ΣΑΣ ΕΥΧΟΜΑΙ...) to say "I wish you ..." in front. If the card is from two of you the plural (we wish you) would be "σου/σας ευχόμαστε" (ΣΟΥ/ΣΑΣ ΕΥΧΟΜΑΣΤΕ).

And perhaps sign off the card with:

English	Lower	Upper
with love	με αγάπη	ΜΕ ΑΓΑΠΗ
lots of love	με πολή αγάπη	ΜΕ ΠΟΛΗ ΑΓΑΠΗ
regards	χαιρετισμούς	ΧΑΙΡΕΤΙΣΜΟΥΣ