What Do Americans Say at the New Year?

Hello! This week we answer a question from Maria in Brazil.

Question:

I am sending some cards to my American friends. I'd like to know what to write on the cards for the new year.

Maria, Brazil.

Answer:

Dear Maria,

Thank you for writing to us. In many countries, people send messages at the end of the year or the beginning of the year with greetings and good wishes.

Health and wealth

A popular wish that you will see on a New Year's greeting card is for good health.

Wishing you a healthy and happy new year.

Another popular wish is for happiness and wealth, or prosperity¹.

We wish you a prosperous² and joyful³ new year.

Joy and peace

Another wish you can write on your cards is for peace and joy for your friends.

Hoping that your new year is filled with joy and peace.

New beginnings

As the new year starts, we may wish them success in new beginnings.

Hoping the new year and your new beginnings bring you much success.

And finally, we can tell our friends how much they mean to us as we look forward to another year. Here is one way to do just that.

Looking forward to another year of being friends with you. Thank you for your friendship!

The VOA Learning⁴ English team would like to thank readers like you, Maria, for making 2021 a great year for us. We wish you all a wonderful year of learning together in 2022.

What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at [email protected]

Words in This Story

greeting – n. something that is said or done to show people that you are happy to meet or see them

prosperity - n. the state of being successful usually by making a lot of money

1 prosperity   

n.繁荣，昌盛，成功

参考例句：

• I wish you the life of happiness and prosperity. 我祝你生活幸福、万事如意。
• A prosperity never seen before appeared in the countryside.农村出现了前所未有的繁荣。

2 prosperous   

adj.兴旺的，繁荣的；成功的

参考例句：

• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling.这一带越来越繁华了。
• The country is prosperous and the people live in peace.国泰民安。

3 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。