Every December, we receive holiday greetings at a rapid pace. Cards, chocolates, decorative baskets…the well wishes come in all forms.

Before you send the next card or gift out the door, heed these important grammatical rules.

• It’s not “Happy Holidays”
  • If the words appear on their own line (like as a heading), then you can use “Happy Holidays,” but if the phrase is part of a sentence, the words are lower case. Example: Wishing you a happy holiday season!
• It’s not “New Year”
  • The following line is incorrect: “May you have a healthy and happy New Year!” Why? We only capitalize “New Year” if we refer to the holiday of New Year’s Day.
  • Yes, “Happy New Year!” is acceptable like as a heading on a card. But when we talk about the year 2016, it’s “new year” in lower case.
• It’s not “Seasons Greetings”
  • Two problems with “Seasons Greetings”
    • “Seasons” should be possessive (Season’s) because, technically, the season is sending people the greeting.
    • “Greetings” should be lower case because it’s not a proper noun.
    • Corrected version: Season’s greetings
• Good luck with your holiday cards, and may everyone have a happy holiday and healthy new year. 🙂