The idea
Many public holidays in Germany, such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, have Christian origins, and some holidays apply only in certain federal states. Not everyone celebrates them religiously, and people of other faiths celebrate their own festivals at other times. Traditional wishes like “Frohe Weihnachten” remain very common and are rarely taken badly, but neutral forms such as “Schöne Feiertage” or “Erholsame Tage” suit any background, especially in emails to people you do not know well. Grammar: “jemandem etwas wünschen” takes a dative person and an accusative wish.
Other ways to say it
“Schöne Feiertage!” – Short, neutral wish that fits any holiday season.
“Ich wünsche Ihnen erholsame Tage.” – Formal Sie version, common at the end of business emails.
“Komm gut ins neue Jahr!” – Casual and very common before New Year’s Eve.
Examples
- Ich wünsche dir für die kommenden freien Tage eine gute Zeit.I wish you a good time during the coming days off.
- Danke, ich verbringe sie dieses Jahr ganz ruhig.Thanks; I will spend them very quietly this year.
- Falls du etwas feierst, wünsche ich dir einen schönen Anlass.If you are celebrating something, I hope you enjoy the occasion.
- Ich freue mich vor allem auf ein Treffen mit Freunden.I am mainly looking forward to meeting friends.
- Dann wünsche ich dir schöne gemeinsame Stunden.Then I wish you lovely hours together.
- Danke, deine Wünsche passen gut zu meinen Plänen.Thank you; your wishes fit my plans well.
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Watch out
“Ich wünsche dich eine gute Zeit.” → “Ich wünsche dir eine gute Zeit.”: With “wünschen”, the person who receives the wish is the indirect object and must be dative (“dir”, “Ihnen”). The wish itself is accusative.
Try it yourself
Translate into German: I wish you a good time during the coming days off.
Show answer or example answer
Ich wünsche dir für die kommenden freien Tage eine gute Zeit.
“Dir” is the dative person, “eine gute Zeit” the accusative wish. “Für die kommenden freien Tage” is accusative plural after für, with weak endings -en after die.
Put the words in order: Anlass / dir / du / einen / etwas / Falls / feierst / ich / schönen / wünsche
Show answer or example answer
Falls du etwas feierst, wünsche ich dir einen schönen Anlass.
The falls-clause comes first and ends with “feierst”; the main clause then starts with its verb “wünsche”. “Falls” leaves open whether the person celebrates at all.
Write this sentence in German: Thank you; your wishes fit my plans well.
Show answer or example answer
Danke, deine Wünsche passen gut zu meinen Plänen.
“Passen zu” takes the dative, so the plural becomes “zu meinen Plänen”, with the extra -n of the dative plural.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
Translate into German: I wish you a good time during the coming days off.
Ich wünsche dir für die kommenden freien Tage eine gute Zeit.
Put the words in order: Anlass / dir / du / einen / etwas / Falls / feierst / ich / schönen / wünsche
Falls du etwas feierst, wünsche ich dir einen schönen Anlass.
Write this sentence in German: Thank you; your wishes fit my plans well.
Danke, deine Wünsche passen gut zu meinen Plänen.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write the last two sentences of an email to a business contact before the end-of-year holidays, wishing them a good break without naming any particular festival.