New Year Vocabulary
- Happy New Year - Happy New Year!
- on New Year's Day (Eve) - New Year's Eve
- New Year's tree - Christmas tree
- Christmas tree - Christmas tree
- in the morning - in the morning
- late at night - late at night
- when the clock strikes 12 - when the clock strikes 12
- New Year's Party - New Year's party
- Snow Maiden - Snow Maiden
- Jack Frost - Santa Claus
- Father Christmas - Santa Claus (who comes at Christmas)
- to see (welcome) New Year in - celebrate the New Year
- to look forward to New Year - look forward to the New Year
- colored lights - flashlights
- glass balls, toys - balls, New Year's toys
- a tinsel - garland
- to hang up - hang up
- to be hung with - hung with
- a candle - a candle
- to light (lit) - light
- to decorate with - decorate
- special decorations - special decorations
- to celebrate (all over the country) - celebrate all over the country
- to congratulate - congratulate
- to wish each other - wish each other
- a wish - desire
- to make a wish - make a wish
- to come true - come true
- to tell fortune - predict fate
- to explode crackers - clap crackers
- to make fireworks - make fireworks
- to send greeting cards - send greeting cards
- a holiday meal - festive dinner
- a treat - a treat
- merry - cheerful
- midnight - midnight
- a guest
- to invite - invite
- to visit smb; to go to see - go to visit
- popular - popular
- popular gifts - ordinary gifts
(a box of chocolate, flowers, books, records, a photo album, A CD, computer games, perfume) - hand-made gifts - homemade gifts
- to prepare - prepare (sya)
- to put up - put, install
- to put up a New Year Tree - put up a Christmas tree
- to represent - represent, symbolize
- to listen to the speech of the president - listen to the president's speech
- relative - relative
- to stay up late - stay up late
English words (New Year Vocabulary) will help you talk about how you are going to celebrate the New Year. And here small text in English about how the New Year is celebrated.
Every country has its national holidays, but there are also holidays that are common for many countries. New Year's Day is the first holiday of each New Year. In Russia it is the most popular holiday, but in the West people pay more attention to Christmas.
New Year is always connected with our new hopes and dreams. Everyone hopes that next new year will be better than the last one. As usual people make New Year Resolutions, they promise to start doing morning exercises, to eat healthier food. Unfortunately people don't always keep them.
The celebration of this holiday begins on New Year's Eve, that is, on the 31st of December. At home people stay up until midnight and much later. They light colored lamps on New Year Tree and have late dinner with champagne. Sometimes they just watch TV or go out for a late walk. Everybody gets presents.
In Scotland New Year's Eve is called Hogmanay. Also the Scottish have the custom of First-Footing.
Most differences in celebrating New Year are connected with a meal or special food. For example, in Switzerland special bread, rich in butter, eggs and raisin is baked and a roasted goose is cooked. In Spain there is a custom to eat 12 grapes at midnight. In Greece some people play cards believing that they will be lucky the whole year if they win. In Russia the traditional dish for the holiday is “Russian salad” (olivier).
Everyone's favorite New Year holidays will come very soon. Not surprisingly, preparation for them is increasingly becoming a favorite topic of conversation. But if you are discussing the arrival of Santa Claus with your foreign colleagues, you may hear some New Year's vocabulary that can confuse you. Let's see what "White Christmas" is, how you can shorten the word Christmas and how it will be New Year in English.
Christmas vs New Year
Many people know that in Europe the main focus of the New Year holidays falls on Christmas. It is what all children look forward to. As we know, Catholic Christmas is celebrated earlier than Christian Christmas and falls on December 25th. So it is on the night of December 24-25 that gifts magically appear under the tree.
Traditionally, Christmas in Europe is celebrated with family. But on New Year's Eve, you can already go somewhere with friends, or you can stay at home and sleep through the night. So it is not surprising that there are much more interesting Christmas idioms and expressions than New Year's ones. By the way, the New Year in English will be New year's day and Christmas is Christmas.
English expressions on the topic New Year
We have compiled a selection of those expressions that will come in handy if you want to chat with foreign friends about the New Year.
English expressions with the word Christmas
First of all, don't be surprised if you notice that someone has spelled the word Christmas as Xmas. This does not mean that a person is not familiar with the correct spelling. Xmas is a popular abbreviation for Christmas. This abbreviation is already so firmly established in speech that it is printed without embarrassment on greeting cards and posters.
There are many expressions with the word Christmas. Today we will talk with you about simple phrases that are translated literally, and about phraseological units, the translation of which will have to be thought about.
Christmas phrases
Christmas phrases and idioms
Now you are completely savvy in New Year's vocabulary. Visit our website, read articles about the New Year holidays and get in the Christmas spirit with the benefit of English.
The winter holidays are coming up very soon. We offer to prepare for them and learn English for the New Year. To do this, we have prepared a selection of holiday words.
Stock up on fragrant mulled wine, delicious tangerines, new words and phrases. Don't forget about good mood.
General Christmas vocabulary:
To begin with, let's look at simple general vocabulary on the topic of Christmas and New Year, which is important for everyone to know, and then move on to more specific topics.
- Christmas |ˈkrɪsməs| - Christmas (abbreviated as Xmas);
- Yule |juːl| - Christmas, Christmas time;
- Christmas Eve - Christmas Eve;
- White Christmas - snowy Christmas;
- Snowflakes |ˈsnəʊfleɪk|- snow flakes;
- Christmas Day - the day of Christmas (usually December 25 or January 7);
- Family reunion |ˈfamɪli riːˈjuːnjən| – family meeting, celebration with family;
- Christmas holidays |ˈhɒlədeɪz| - Christmas holidays;
- Miracle |ˈmɪrəkl| - miracle;
- Wassail |ˈwɒseɪl| - meeting the New Year, also celebrating, feasting;
- New Year - New Year;
- Nativity play |nəˈtɪvɪti ˈpleɪ| - Christmas play
- New Year's Eve party - New Year's party.
- Advent |ˈædvent| - religious. advent;
- to celebrate Christmas |ˈsɛlɪbreɪt| - to celebrate Christmas;
- Goodwill |ɡʊdˈwɪl| - benevolence;
- Christmas spirit |ˈspɪrɪt| - spirit of Christmas, Christmas mood.
And to cheer you up, we suggest you watch a short episode from the Friends series.
The main thing is that there are no such unexpected guests at your New Year's party :).
Do you remember Janice? Do you remember Janice?
- Vividely - Very distinctly (the word Vividely is used when talking about vivid memories).
— Hi! I'm Sandy. Hi, I'm Sandy.
— Sandy, hi, come in! “Hey Sandy, come in.
- You brought your kids ... - You brought the children ....
— Yeah, that's ok, right? “Yeah, no big deal, right?
Party! - Party!
— That thing is not coming in here! This thing won't go in here!
— ‘That thing’? This is how you greet guests at a party? Let me ask you something, if I showed up here with my new
girlfriend, she wouldn't be welcome in your home?- This thing? Is this how you greet guests at a party? Let me ask you something: if I show up with my new girlfriend, will she not be welcome in your house?
— I'm guessing your new girlfriend wouldn't urinate on my coffee table.
“I guess your girlfriend won't pee on my coffee table.
— OK. He was more embarrassed about that than anyone. OK? And for him to have the courage to walk back in here like nothing happened.
“Okay, he was ashamed, like no one else. OK? And he showed courage by coming back here as if nothing had happened.
— Alright. Just keep him away from me. - Fine. Just keep him away from me.
holiday decorations in english
Joy is brought not only by holidays, but also by preparation for them. All these cute Christmas decorations create a fabulous atmosphere and uplift your mood.
- Fir |fɜː| - spruce;
- Icicle |ˈaɪsɪkl| - icicle;
- Christmas tree |ˈkrɪsməs tree |- (Christmas) tree;
- Decorate the Christmas tree |ˈdɛkəreɪt ðə ˈkrɪsməs tree |- decorate the Christmas tree;
- By the way, the Christmas tree can be Artificial |ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃl| - artificial
- Decoration |ˌdekəˈreɪʃn|/ Ornament |ˈɔːnəmənt| - decoration;
- To ornament a room - decorate the room;
- Garland |ˈɡɑːlənd|- garland, wreath;
- To engarland - decorate with garlands;
- Lights |lʌɪts| - any luminous decorations (lights), for example, garlands can be called this way;
- Mistletoe |ˈmɪsltoʊ| - mistletoe;
- Tinsel |ˈtɪnsl| - sequins, tinsel, can also act as a verb - decorate with sparkles;
- Candy canes |ˈkandi keɪnz| - these are candies in the form of striped canes, with which it is customary to decorate a Christmas tree;
- Candle |ˈkændl| - candle;
- We thought for a long time where to attribute the next word - to festive food or, nevertheless, to decorations :).
- Gingerbread |ˈdʒɪndʒəbrɛd| (man, woman, house) - gingerbread (little man (man, woman), house), can also simply mean gingerbread.
- Sleighbells |sleɪ bel| - bells, bells;
- Chimney |ˈtʃɪmni| - chimney, fireplace;
- Ribbon |ˈrɪbən| - ribbon, braid;
- Evergreen |ˈɛvəɡriːn| - spruce branch;
- Party poppers / a Christmas cracker - crackers / Christmas crackers.
Christmas tree decorations can be crazy fun activity, especially if you have a friend as smart as this elf 🙂
How are we gonna get the star on top? “And how do we place this star on top?”
I got it. - I understand.
New Year / Christmas gifts
On holidays it is nice not only to receive gifts, but also to give them. Let's look at a few words on the topic "Shopping and Gifts"
- Crowds |kraʊdz| - this is something without which it is impossible to imagine any store on the eve of the winter holidays, and no, we are not talking about discounts now, but about crowds of people 🙂
- Sales |seɪlz| — discounts, sales;
- Gift box - gift box;
- Card |kɑːd| - postcard;
- Wrapping paper |ˈrapɪŋ ˈpeɪpə| - wrapping;
- Stocking-stuffer - gifts under the Christmas tree, New Year's gifts;
- To work a miracle - create a miracle;
- Gift-giving is an exchange of gifts.
Here's a scene from The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon received his dream Christmas present:
Happy New Year greetings in English
And, of course, the winter holidays do not pass without warm and sincere congratulations. Let's see how you can say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in English.
- Congratulate ON |kənˈɡrætʃuleɪt| - congratulate on (do not forget that in English we use the preposition "on" with this word);
- Carols |ˈkærəlz| - Christmas songs;
- Merry Christmas! - Merry Christmas!
- Happy Christmas! - Merry Christmas!
- Happy New Year! - Happy New Year!
- Seasons greetings! - Happy holidays!
More detailed wishes in English
- Wishing you a wonderful Christmas filled with happiness and fun - I wish you a wonderful Christmas filled with happiness and fun;
- Christmas is the proof that this world can become a better place if we have lots of people like you who fills it with happiness and hope. “Christmas is proof that this world can be a better place if we have many people like you filling it with happiness and hope.
- Wishing you a prosperous New Year - I wish you a successful New Year!
- All the best for the coming year! - All the best in the new year!
- Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas. May this joyful season greet you with health and happiness. I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas. May this joyful season bring you health and happiness.
Christmas food and drinks in English
- Gingerbread |ˈdʒɪndʒəbrɛd| - gingerbread;
- Brandy butter |ˈbrandiˈbʌtə| is a sweet butter usually served at Christmas (in the UK) and is made up of sugar, brandy and butter.
- Christmas cookies |ˈkʊkɪz| - Christmas cookies
- Eggnog |ˈɛɡnɒɡ| - egg and wine cocktail, which is usually served at Christmas;
- Mulled wine |m'ld waɪn| - mulled wine;
- Champagne |ʃamˈpeɪn| - champagne, bubbly - in colloquial English, and in slang this drink is sometimes called - the boy;
- Sweet potato - sweet potato, or rather, it is an orange vegetable that resembles a potato, but has a sweetish taste;
Christmas characters
Santa Claus - Santa Claus;
Interestingly, the name Santa Claus is a corruption of the Dutch transcription of the name of St. Nicholas.
Santa's elves |ɛlvz| - Santa's elves;
Scrooge - Scrooge;
Reindeer |ˈreɪndɪə| - Reindeer, such pull Santa's team.
By the way, here is a list of Santa's reindeer names:
- Blitzer
- Rudolph
- comet
- cupid
- dancer
- Dasher
- Donner
- Prancer
- vixan
- All right, you're a reindeer. Here's your motivation: Your name is Rudolph, you're a freak with a red nose, and no one likes you. Then, one day, Santa picks you and you save Christmas. No, forget that part. We'll improvise… just keep it kind of loosey-goosey. You HATE Christmas! You're gonna steal it. Saving Christmas is a lousy ending, way too commercial. ACTION!
“Great, you are a reindeer. Here's your motivation: Your name is Rudolf, you're a freak with a red nose, and no one likes you. Then, one day, Santa chooses you and you save Christmas. No, forget that part. Let's improvise... Just act impromptu. You HATE Christmas. You are going to steal it. Saving Christmas is a lousy ending, too commercial. Action!
— BRILLIANT! You reject your own nose because it represents the glitter of commercialism. Why didn't I think of that? Cut, print, check the gate, moving on.
- Great! You reject your own nose because it displays commercial glamor. Why didn't I think of this myself? Reade set Go!
We hope you enjoyed this article and learned English for the New Year, and the frames from the Christmas movies cheered you up :).
In anticipation of the upcoming holidays, I decided to compile a list of words and expressions that are often used when we talk about celebrating Christmas and the New Year.
Traditions
christmas tree= a real or artificial tree that people decorate inside their home (Christmas tree)
to decorate a Christmas tree- decorate the Christmas tree
A garland is used to decorate a Christmas tree ( fairy lights), Christmas balls ( baubles), tinsel ( tinsel). There may be a star at the top ( star) or an angel ( angel).
cracker= a colored paper tube with a small toy inside, that people pull open at Christmas in the UK
A colorful Christmas cracker that contains a prize, usually a small toy or joke note. To open the cracker, two people pull it in different directions, and it bursts with a characteristic popping sound. These crackers are popular in the UK.
to pull a cracker- pull (open) cracker
It looks something like this:
christmas card= a decorated card that you send to someone at Christmas
carol= a song that people sing at Christmas
Father Christmas/Santa Claus= a kind, fat, old man in red clothes who people say brings presents to children at Christmas (Santa Claus, Santa Claus)
stocking= a large sock (stocking)
Traditionally, stockings are hung by the fireplace, and Santa Claus comes down the chimney. (chimney) and puts gifts in them. Treats are often left for Santa Claus: milk and cookies (in America), or cakes and a glass of wine (in Britain).
reindeer= a deer with large horns (reindeer)
elf= a small person with pointed ears who has magic powers (elf)
snowman= something that looks like a person and is made from snow (snowman)
sack = a large bag (bag)
bells= an object that makes a ringing sound
sleigh= a large vehicle that is used for traveling on snow (sled)
mistletoe= a plant with white berries (mistletoe, often used to decorate houses at Christmas)
holly= a green bush with sharp, pointed leaves and small, red fruit (holly, often used to decorate houses at Christmas)
New Year's resolutions= a promise to do an act of self-improvement
Promises that a person makes to himself on New Year's Eve. For example, lose weight, quit smoking, learn a foreign language :).
Religion
Jesus= the name of Christ (Jesus Christ)
Mary= the mother of Jesus (Mary, Mother of God)
Joseph= the husband of Mary (Joseph, husband of Mary)
the Magi= the three men who followed a star to visit Jesus Christ when he was a baby and give him presents, they are also called the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men (Magi)
manger= an open box from which cattle and horses feed (nursery)
Bethlehem= small town in the Middle East believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ (Bethlehem)
the star of Bethlehem= the star that announced the birth of Jesus and guided the wise men to find Him (Star of Bethlehem)
gold= a yellow precious metal, one of the gifts that the three wise men gave to Jesus (gold, one of the Gifts of the Magi)
frankincense= a gum used for incense, one of the gifts that the three wise men gave to Jesus (incense, one of the Gifts of the Magi)
myrrh= a sticky brown substance with a strong smell that is used in making perfume and incense, one of the gifts that the three wise men gave to Jesus (myrrh, one of the Gifts of the Magi)
the Nativity= (Nativity of Christ; nativity scene)
Advent= the religious period before Christmas
midnight mass= a Christmas Eve liturgy (vespers)
Food
roast turkey- fried turkey, which can be served with vegetables, gravy ( gravy), cranberry sauce ( cranberry sauce) or bread sauce ( bread sauce)
christmas cake= a cake containing a lot of dried fruit and nuts and covered with icing big amount nuts and dried fruits, topped with white icing.)
Christmas pudding= a sweet, dark food containing dried fruit
brandy butter= a sweet food made of sugar, butter, and brandy, served on Christmas pudding and mince pies
candy cane= a piece of flavoured hard candy shaped like a cane 
mice-pie= a small pastry filled with mincemeat that is eaten mainly at Christmas
gingerbread man= a hard ginger biscuit shaped like a person
leftovers= food remaining after a meal
Useful words and expressions
Xmas= abbreviation or informal term for Christmas
white Christmas= a Christmas when it snows
Christmas Eve= the day before Christmas Day (Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve)
Christmas holidays= the holiday period for about a week before and after Christmas Day (Christmas holidays)
Useful phrases
We wish you a Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas!/ Happy Christmas! - Merry Christmas!
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! / Have a wonderful/ lovely/ great Christmas! We wish you a good/merry Christmas!
Asking about plans for Christmas
Have you got any plans for Christmas? — Do you have plans for Christmas?
What are you up to over Christmas? What are you planning to do for Christmas?
Are you getting a Christmas tree this year? Are you going to put up a Christmas tree this year?
Have you decorated your tree yet? Have you already decorated the Christmas tree?
Talking about past holidays
Did you have a good Christmas holiday? Did you have a good Christmas break?
What did you do over Christmas? — What did you do for Christmas?
What did you get for Christmas? - What did you get for Christmas?
Did Father Christmas bring you what you wanted? Did Santa Claus give you what you wanted?
Happy upcoming holidays everyone!
A little vocabulary New Year's themed! The most frequently used words and phrases in the New Year!
Hello friends. There is just a little bit left before the New Year 2015. I hope that your preparations for the holiday are going well. Congratulations on the New Year and I wish you a great mood in the New Year, no matter what.
In this article, I would like to share with you the words and phrases that we often use in New Year's speeches.
How to say Happy New Year! in English?
English speakers do not use this phrase in their speech. In English, everything is simple:
Happy New Year!— Happy New Year; with coming.
That is, you will be perfectly understood if you just say “Happy New Year!” a few days before the holiday. By the way, this applies not only to the New Year.
Merry Christmas! — Merry Christmas; Merry Christmas; Merry Christmas.
So, when talking to people, do not rack your brains and do not think for a long time about how to say "Happy New Year!". Everything is simple 😉
By the way, it would also be correct to say:
Happy upcoming holidays! — c Coming!
upcoming - coming.
The phrase “Happy upcoming New Year!” you are unlikely to hear from native speakers.
How to ask "What will you do for the New Year?"
Another insanely popular phrase around the holidays, right?
Since by "New Year" here we most often mean exactly December 31 and New Year's Eve, native speakers would ask like this:
What are you going to do on the New Year's Eve?
(What are you going to do for the New Year?)
What are your plans for the New Year's Eve?
(What are the plans for the new year?)
How are you going to celebrate the New Year's Eve?
(How are you going to celebrate the New Year?)
Where are you going to celebrate the New Year's Eve?
(Where are you going to celebrate the New Year?)
New Year's Eve — New Year's Eve.
About gifts and congratulations!
What kind of gifts do you usually get from people?
(What gifts do you usually receive from people?)
What kind of gifts do you usually buy for your family and friends?
(What gifts do you usually buy for family and friends?)
My best wishes to you!
(Wishing you all the best in the New Year!)
May God bless you with great health, success and happiness!
(God give you health, success and happiness!)
Other useful vocabulary and phrases:
Happy holiday, friends! And to the connection!
