How to say Happy New Year in Turkish

New Year's Eve is the Turks' substitute for Christmas. Most people exchange gifts on December 31, and increasing numbers get real or artificial trees which they decorate with lights and sparkling ornaments (no crosses). Many families have a special dinner on that night, and have, guess what, turkey, which otherwise does not feature prominently in Turkish cuisine. This sort of activity is generally disapproved by the more religious members of society who protest the infidels celebrating Christ's birthday, but life goes on.

As for what to say, first, there is the formal/plural yeni yılınız kutlu olsun. If you are adressing a single person and do not wish to be formal, you can change that to yeni yılın kutlu olsun.

You could also say mutlu yıllar which literally means happy years or nice mutlu yıllara which means to many happy years.

If you are sending or giving a greeting card to someone, it is customary to close with nice sağlık, mutluluk, sevgi dolu yıllara which means to many more healthy, happy years full of love and affection. It is important to put sağlık, i.e. health first.