Ways to say it
| Finnish |
|---|
| hyvää lomaa |
| hyviä pyhiä |
The phrase used depends on whether you are wishing someone a pleasant vacation or celebrating the festive season. hyviä pyhiä is the most appropriate equivalent for the English "Happy Holidays" when used during the winter festive season. If you want to say "Merry Christmas", you would use Hyvää Joulua.
What does it mean word for word?
hyvää lomaa is composed of the partitive form of hyvä (good) and the partitive form of loma (vacation/holiday). hyviä pyhiä is composed of the partitive plural of hyvä (good) and the partitive plural of pyhä (holy/sacred), literally meaning "good holy days".
Which one should you use?
Use hyvää lomaa when wishing someone a good vacation or a specific period of time off from work or school. In contrast, use hyviä pyhiä when referring to the holiday season or religious holidays. You may also see the form Hyviä lomia!, which also means "Happy holidays!"
Did you know?
- In Finland, the winter holidays are often associated with the 'sauna' tradition. It is common to wish someone hyviä pyhiä and then spend the entire holiday alternating between a scorching sauna and a hole in the ice.
- While hyviä pyhiä refers to the festive season, the word pyhä also means 'Sunday' in Finnish. A person might use the same root word to describe both a sacred holiday and a regular Sunday afternoon.
- In a professional setting, you might hear hyvää lomaa said to a colleague who is leaving for a long summer break in July, which is the most important vacation period in Finland, often more significant than the winter holidays.
Examples in context
- Hyviä pyhiä!Happy Holidays.This example shows how to use the phrase hyviä pyhiä.Tatoeba #8185604 by Silja, translation #5716210 by Hybrid
- Toivotan sinulle hyvää lomaa.I wish you a happy holiday.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Juho and Laura are saying goodbye at the office before a break.
- JuhoHyvää lomaa, Laura!Happy holidays, Laura!
- LauraKiitos samoin, Juho.Thanks, you too, Juho.
- JuhoNähdään ensi viikolla.See you next week.
- LauraJoo, nähdään silloin!Yes, see you then!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “happy holidays” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
