How to say Merry Christmas in Finnish? I’ve got you covered, as here comes the Finnish language Holiday Special!
From Christmas greetings between friends to business Finland and exotic New Year wishes, I’ll introduce you to the festive Finnish vocabulary.
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Table of Contents
- Merry Christmas in Finnish
- Ten Unique Finnish Christmas Greetings
- Greetings in Finnish Christmas Cards
- Season’s Greetings in Finnish
- Five Happy New Year Wishes in Finnish
- The Three Most Important Season’s Greetings & Wishes
- Quick Pronunciation Tutorial – How to Say Merry Christmas in Finnish
- Are You Interested in Learning More Finnish?
Merry Christmas in Finnish
The Finnish greeting you’ll see and hear most often during the Christmas season is Hyvää joulua! (Good Christmas!)
Personally, I think this phrase is at its best spoken when you are out and about.
Hyvää joulua! is a courteous, warm wish to sprinkle around like Christmas candy. This saying is always appropriate and never too personal.
Never too personal? Yup. There are things that are too personal to say to a random person in Finland. Like, How are you? Read more about that here.
Ten Unique Finnish Christmas Greetings
When it comes to greeting family, messaging friends or writing a Facebook update for the holidays, I try to be more innovative.
In Finland, we have a charming selection of Christmas greetings you can use instead of Hyvää joulua!
Sidenote, I struggled to find exactly same meaning adjectives in English. That’s why I sometimes write few adjectives so that you can interpret the tone of the Finnish adjective more correctly.
#1 Rauhallista joulua = Peaceful Christmas!
#2 Iloista joulua = Happy, cheerful Christmas!
#3 Hauskaa joulua = Merry, fun Christmas!
#4 Valoisaa joulua = Bright Christmas!
#5 Leppoisaa joulua!= Jovial, cozy, relaxing Christmas!
#6 Tunnelmallista joulua! = Atmospheric Christmas! Refers to the coziness of Christmas.
#7 Jouluiloa! = Christmas joy!
#8 Joulurauhaa! = Christmas peace!
#9 Kiireetöntä joulua = Unrushed, relaxing Christmas!
#10 Ihanaa joulua = Lovely Christmas!
What was your favorite out of the ten greetings?
You can also substitute joulua (Christmas) with joulunaikaa (Christmas time).
For example, Leppoisaa joulunaikaa! or Ihanaa joulunaikaa!
By the way, did you notice that, in Finnish, the word ‘Christmas’ is always written with small letters?
Greetings in Finnish Christmas Cards
Hands down, the most popular, traditional phrase on a Finnish Christmas card is Hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta! (Good Christmas and happy New Year!)
In Finnish business life, we sometimes write Hyvää joulua ja kiitos kuluneesta vuodesta! (Good Christmas and thank you for the past year!).
This phrase is often used when Finnish companies say their holiday greetings to their customers and partners.
Season’s Greetings in Finnish
What if you want to say your holiday greetings but not talk about Christmas?
In Finnish, a great sentence would be Hyvää vuodenvaihdetta! (which means word to word: Good turn of the year!)
This phrase is versatile and also works well for New Year’s wishes. However, if you are writing a card, you could put separately:
Hyvää vuodenvaihdetta ja onnellista uutta vuotta! = Good turn of the year and happy New Year!
Five Happy New Year Wishes in Finnish
Holiday season includes both Christmas and New Year. Right after Christmas, we wish Happy New Year in Finland.
#1 Onnellista uutta vuotta! = Happy New Year!
#2 Menestyksekästä uutta vuotta = Successful New Year!
#3 Iloista uutta vuotta! = Happy, cheerful New Year!
#4 Hyvää uutta vuotta = Good New Year!
#5 Räiskyvää uutta vuotta! = Sparking New Year! Refers to the New Year fireworks all around Finland.
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The Three Most Important Season’s Greetings & Wishes
In my opinion, these three phrases are most-used and super versatile.
Hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta! You’ll see and hear this phrase all the time in Finland.
As I told earlier, it means word to word “Good Christmas and happy New Year!” but I think it’s the equivalent of “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!”
My second pick is Hyvää vuodenvaihdetta! (the equivalent of “Season’s greetings!”) because then you don’t have to mention Christmas.
Last, joulutoivotuksin means “best wishes for Christmas” and it can be used when signing cards and emails.
I rounded up these phrases with seven other most popular below. You can save the image nicely on Pinterest.
Quick Pronunciation Tutorial – How to Say Merry Christmas in Finnish
Check out this quick video and repeat after me in Finnish. You got this!
Are You Interested in Learning More Finnish?
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Are you ready to spread some Finnish Christmas cheer? What other holiday words you would like to know? Let me know in the comments!
Looking for more information about Finnish Christmas or language? Check out some of my other posts:
- What Really Happens at Finnish Homes at Christmas!
- Finnish Christmas Foods: Tasty Guide to Xmas Dishes from Finland
- Fun and Thoughtful Finnish Christmas Gift Ideas
- Quick Guide to Finnish Language Basics
About Varpu
I’m the founder of Her Finland. I love cultural tidbits, aha moments, Finnish folklore, and cinnamon buns. My newest interest is learning bird songs. Read more about me..
Jimmy
Monday 12th of December 2022
Hauskka Joulua ja Onnellista Uutta Vuotta!
That's the way it was said on the Minnesota Iron Range. Even the Croates, Slovenes, Italians and Serbians used the phrase to greet us Finns. It was so popular in our region.
Varpu
Monday 19th of December 2022
Awesome to hear, thank you so much for sharing!
Jann
Wednesday 22nd of December 2021
Good evening. Oh yes, I agree with you! Not too long ago I came across a site that has wonderful organic chocolate and it was a real treat! Organic chocolate gifts made my girlfriend happier. If you are having difficulty choosing a gift, then you already know what to look for.
Varpu
Saturday 1st of January 2022
Thank you Jann!
Anna
Sunday 4th of October 2020
I always enjoy your post…I think my Finnish is coming back after not using it for so many years. ? Ruosteista se on….
Varpu Pöyry
Tuesday 6th of October 2020
Hei Anna! Kiitos paljon sun kommentista! Arvostan sitä tosi paljon <3
Daryl Foxcroft
Thursday 19th of December 2019
Merry Christmas Varpu. Have enjoyed reading your posts this year. Learned a lot about the country my maternal grandparents were born in. Next year will work on learning more Finnish!
Varpu Pöyry
Friday 27th of December 2019
Hei Daryl! Thank you so much for this lovely comment. It means the world to me, kiitos!
salim sabban
Thursday 19th of December 2019
Hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta!
Varpu Pöyry
Friday 27th of December 2019
Kiitos paljon ja sinulle myös!