New Year letter to a pen pal: "Happy New Year" in 20 languages and an example

A New Year letter to a friend abroad lands twice as warmly when it opens with one New Year greeting in their language. Write the rest in your own language; the translate button turns it into theirs. On Lettie, sending one letter between Dec 27, 12:00 UTC and Jan 4, 12:00 UTC earns a free New Year stamp (the first sunrise over the sea).

"Happy New Year" in 20 languages

Language	Greeting	Pronunciation
Korean	새해 복 많이 받으세요	saehae bok mani badeuseyo
English	Happy New Year!	—
Japanese	あけましておめでとうございます	akemashite omedetō gozaimasu
Chinese	新年快乐	xīnnián kuàilè
Spanish	¡Feliz Año Nuevo!	feh-LEES AHN-yo noo-EH-vo
French	Bonne année !	bun ah-NAY
German	Frohes neues Jahr!	FRO-es NOY-es yar
Italian	Buon anno!	bwon AHN-no
Portuguese	Feliz Ano Novo!	feh-LEES AH-noo NOH-voo
Russian	С Новым годом!	s NO-vym GO-dom
Turkish	Mutlu yıllar!	moot-LOO yuh-LAR
Vietnamese	Chúc mừng năm mới	chook mung nam moy
Indonesian	Selamat Tahun Baru	seh-LAH-mat TAH-hoon BAH-roo
Thai	สวัสดีปีใหม่	sa-wat-dee pee mai
Hindi	नया साल मुबारक	na-ya saal mu-baa-rak
Arabic	سنة سعيدة	sana sa'eeda
Filipino	Manigong Bagong Taon!	ma-NEE-gong ba-GONG ta-ON
Polish	Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku!	shchen-shlee-VEH-go no-VEH-go RO-koo
Dutch	Gelukkig nieuwjaar!	kheh-LUK-kikh NEEW-yar
Swahili	Heri ya Mwaka Mpya!	HEH-ree ya MWAH-ka m-PYA

Pronunciations are rough guides. In a letter, paste the greeting in its own script.

New Year looks different everywhere

Where	The New Year scene
Japan	People say 良いお年を (yoi otoshi o, "have a good year") before New Year and あけましておめでとう after it. New Year cards (nengajō) mailed ahead are all delivered on the morning of January 1
Spain	Twelve grapes at midnight, one for each chime
Philippines	A table of round fruits for a prosperous year
Korea	Watching the first sunrise of January 1 by the sea or on a mountain; the bigger New Year holiday is Seollal, the lunar new year

Not every country makes January 1 its biggest New Year. China, Vietnam and Korea celebrate the lunar new year, Iran celebrates Nowruz around the March equinox, and Thailand celebrates Songkran in April. "When is your big New Year?" is a good question on its own.

Timing it across time zones

New Year arrives at different times. Kiribati's Line Islands see it first; Seoul gets there 9 hours before London and 14 hours before New York. Lettie letters take 1–24 hours (1–2 hours within a country, 12–24 hours to faraway countries), so for a friend far away, send on December 31 and it usually lands around their New Year. City-by-city times are in letter delivery time by distance.

Example letter

Happy New Year! It just turned midnight in Seoul — I guess it's still December 31 where you are. Of all our letters this year, the one about your grandma's house stayed with me the most. What's one thing you want to try this year? Mine is writing a letter every week!

Things to write about

1. One letter from this year that stayed with you — be specific.
2. One thing you want to try next year — it doesn't have to be big.
3. December 31 where you live — countdowns, bells, a quiet house.
4. New Year food — like Korea's rice cake soup, tteokguk.

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After New Year comes the Handwriting Day stamp (around January 23). The full schedule is in the 2026–2027 holiday stamp calendar.