Holiday Greetings for a Mixed Audience

If you follow a lot of people, or a lot of people follow you, your audience almost certainly celebrates different things. Some of your followers mark Christmas, some Hanukkah, some Diwali or Eid or Lunar New Year, and plenty mark none of these. Writing one greeting that lands well with all of them is easier than it sounds. It mostly comes down to choosing the right level of specificity for the moment.

General or specific: the basic choice

There are two good ways to send holiday greetings, and both are respectful.

The first is a general greeting that includes everyone, such as "Happy holidays," "Season's greetings" or "Wishing you a restful end of the year." These work for brand accounts, organizations, team posts and any post meant for a broad audience.

The second is a specific greeting for a specific holiday: "Eid Mubarak," "Happy Diwali," "Merry Christmas." These work best when you're replying to someone who has posted about the holiday, or when you celebrate it yourself and are sharing that with your followers.

Problems mostly happen when the two get mixed up. A company that posts only "Merry Christmas" to a global customer base leaves some readers out. A friend who replies "Happy holidays" to someone's photo of their Christmas tree sounds oddly distant.

Writing a greeting for everyone

A good inclusive greeting is warm without being vague. A few things help.

Focus on what most people share at that time of year. Rest, time with people they care about, good food, the end of one year and the start of another. "Wishing you a restful break and a good start to the new year" includes nearly everyone.

Leave room for people who aren't celebrating. For some, the holidays are lonely, busy or hard. A line like "however you're spending the season" acknowledges that without making the post heavy.

Avoid treating one holiday as the default. A post that says "Happy holidays!" next to a picture of a Christmas tree is really a Christmas post. That's fine if that's what you mean, but if you want to include everyone, pick neutral imagery like winter scenes, lights or a simple card design.

Our Christmas and holiday season page has a full set of "Happy holidays" messages in four tones, written to work for any audience.

Getting specific holidays right

When you do write for a specific holiday, a little homework goes a long way. The most common mistakes are dates and names.

Dates that move

Several major holidays follow lunar or lunisolar calendars, so their dates on the Gregorian calendar change every year.

• Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha follow the Islamic lunar calendar and move about 11 days earlier each year. In many communities the exact day depends on a moon sighting, so it can differ between countries.
• Diwali follows the Hindu lunisolar calendar and usually falls in October or November.
• Lunar New Year begins with a new moon between January 21 and February 20.
• Hanukkah follows the Hebrew calendar and usually falls in late November or December.

Before posting, check the date for the current year with a reliable calendar. Posting a day early is mostly harmless. Posting a week late is awkward.

Fixed but different by country

Some holidays have fixed rules that differ by place. Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and the second Monday of October in Canada. Mother's Day is the second Sunday of May in the US and many other countries, while the UK and Ireland celebrate Mothering Sunday in March or early April. If your audience is international, mention which one you mean, or keep the message general.

Names and greetings

Use the greeting the people celebrating actually use. "Eid Mubarak" works for both Eids. "Happy Diwali" and "Happy Deepavali" are both common. "Happy Lunar New Year" includes the many communities that celebrate, while "Chinese New Year" refers to one of them. If you're replying to a friend, mirror their wording.

For brands and organizations

Company accounts face the most scrutiny, so a few extra rules apply.

Don't attach a sale to a religious holiday in the same post. A greeting followed by "use code EID20" feels like the holiday is being used as a marketing hook. If you're running a promotion, post it separately.

Be consistent. If you post for Christmas every year, think about which other holidays your customers and employees celebrate, and post for those with the same care. Skipping some holidays while celebrating others sends a message, intended or not.

Ask the people who celebrate. If you have colleagues or community members who observe a holiday, ask them to read your post before it goes out. They'll catch the mistakes a quick search won't.

When in doubt

A short, sincere message is hard to get wrong. "Wishing you and yours a peaceful season" will never offend anyone. When you know more about who you're writing to, add the specific greeting. When you don't, the general greeting is the considerate choice.

For ready-to-post wording, browse the occasion pages for each holiday, or open the generator and pick a tone.

Questions

Is "Happy holidays" impolite to people who celebrate Christmas?

Generally no. It's a long-standing greeting that covers Christmas along with everything else in the season. When you're writing to one person who you know celebrates Christmas, "Merry Christmas" reads more personal.

Should a business post for every holiday?

No. Pick the holidays your customers and team actually celebrate, and post for those with care. A rushed greeting for a holiday you don't know much about can do more harm than staying quiet.