French Phrase
On fête le Nouvel An en janvier.
Meaning
The sentence states that the celebration of New Year's takes place in January. It uses the generic ‘on’ to refer to people in general, not a specific group.
When to use
Use this phrase when answering questions about the date of the New Year celebration, describing French holiday customs, or comparing calendar events across cultures.
✦Grammar Breakdown
OnfêteleNouvelAnenjanvier
On (impersonal pronoun)
‘On’ is used like ‘we’ or ‘people in general’ and takes a third‑person singular verb.
Fêter (verb)
‘Fêter’ means ‘to celebrate’; in the present tense it conjugates as ‘fête’ with ‘on’.
Le Nouvel An (noun phrase)
The name of the holiday; ‘Nouvel’ agrees with the masculine noun ‘An’.
en + month
When talking about a month, French uses the preposition ‘en’ (lower‑case) followed by the month name.
Month names are not capitalised
Unlike English, French months are written in lower case (e.g., janvier, février).
🗨In Conversation
Quand est‑ce qu’on célèbre le Nouvel An ?
When do we celebrate New Year’s?
On fête le Nouvel An en janvier.
We celebrate New Year’s in January.
✕Common Mistakes
On fête le Nouvel An à janvier.
The preposition for months is ‘en’, not ‘à’.
On fête le Nouvel An en Janvier.
Month names are not capitalised in French.
Nous fête le Nouvel An en janvier.
With ‘nous’, the verb must agree: ‘fêtons’. ‘Nous fête’ is incorrect.
↔Alternatives
Nous célébrons le Nouvel An en janvier.
We celebrate New Year's in January.
Le Nouvel An est fêté en janvier.
New Year's is celebrated in January.
On célèbre le Nouvel An en janvier.
We celebrate New Year's in January.
Cultural Tip
In France the night of December 31st (le Réveillon de la Saint‑Sylvestre) is the big party, but the official holiday – le jour de l’An – is on January 1st. The phrase therefore refers to the calendar date, not the festive evening. In Québec and other Francophone regions the same terminology is used, though some families may also call the celebration ‘le Nouvel An’ on the evening of the 31st.