New Year’s Eve is the evening of 31 December, and New Year’s Day is 1 January. These words come up at parties, on cards and in everyday small talk.
New Year vocabulary
Here are the words you will hear most often on New Year’s Eve:
- New Year’s Evethe evening of 31 December, the last night of the year
- New Year’s Day1 January, the first day of the year
- midnight12 o’clock at night; the moment the new year begins
- the countdowncounting down the last seconds: “Ten, nine, eight…”
- fireworksbright explosions in the sky, usually at midnight
- confettismall pieces of paper thrown at parties
- champagnesparkling wine, often used for toasts; informally people also say “bubbly”
- a New Year’s resolutiona promise you make to yourself to change something in the new year
In English-speaking countries, many people stay up until midnight to watch the countdown and the fireworks. At midnight they often sing Auld Lang Syne, an old Scottish song, and some people kiss a partner or a friend.
To say that you celebrated the start of the year, use to ring in the New Year: “We rang in the New Year with friends.”
Greetings and wishes
From a quick hello to a warmer wish for a card:
- Happy New Year!the standard greeting; you can say it to almost anyone
- Have a great New Year!friendly; good for colleagues and acquaintances
- Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year.good for a card or a message to someone close
- May the new year bring you joy and success.a warm, slightly formal wish for a card
A New Year’s resolution is a promise you make to yourself. You make a resolution, and you keep it (or break it). For plans about the future, see Will vs going to.
- My New Year’s resolution is to learn English.a typical resolution: to + verb
- This year I’m going to go to the gym more often.going to for a plan you have already decided
Say Happy New Year!, not “Happy New Year Day”. It works like “Happy Halloween”: no extra word after the holiday name. Also write New Year’s Eve with the apostrophe after “Year”.
Check yourself
Say it in English, then reveal the answer:
1.The night of 31 December.
Answer
New Year’s Eve
2.Wish a friend a happy New Year.
Answer
Happy New Year!
3.Your resolution: to work less.
Answer
My New Year’s resolution is to work less.
4.Ten, nine, eight… What is this before midnight?
Answer
The countdown
We wish you a happy New Year! To use English for more than holiday phrases, come to a free trial lesson.
