How to wish Happy New Year to our English friends?

Over time, you’ve likely found yourself becoming a part of your new environment, and your Facebook friend list now includes a number of local friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. With the arrival of the New Year, there’s a natural desire to extend our greetings and send well-wishes in proper English. Here, as in other areas, the “English way” is somewhat specific, and it’s beneficial to know a few details.

Firstly, as people from a southern culture, we are far more emotional and verbose. The greetings of English speakers are shorter and more restrained. Lengthy wishes for health, prosperity, a full purse, career advancements, and other such blessings are less common here. This isn’t because the locals don’t wish us well; they’re simply not as punctual in listing these attributes.

We often start our wishes with “let” or “may.” For example, “Let the New Year bring you…”. In English, the auxiliary verb “May” is used—yes, the same one from “May the force be with you!” It’s perfectly fine to write a Facebook status like “May the spirit of the New Year bring you happiness and prosperity!”

Most greetings, however, are shorter and more formal: “Season’s Greetings for a Happy New Year!”, “Best wishes for the New Year!”, “Happy Holidays!” (the latter applies to the nearly conjoined Christmas and New Year holidays).

Biblical values are not forgotten in these well-wishes, and generally, the English are more attached to religion than us. A typical message to friends might be: “May all of you be blessed with Peace, Joy, and Love in the New Year!” or “May the almighty God strengthen your bond with family and friends this New Year!”

There are many ways to greet friends and relatives, and of course, the most important thing is to have friends and relatives whose well-being we wish for. We at Training Centre Raya London are happy to help you with your festive greetings. Ask us for any unfamiliar phrase or expression in English! We fully understand the challenges of learning a foreign language, as well as the initial uncertainty of speaking a new language, and we will provide immediate feedback. We believe that this is the task of every language school.

Until then, we wish you happy and warm holidays and a healthy and successful New Year! Or let’s use the English “Sending you warm New Year Greetings!”