The Weltchek Weekly

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.

Is that correct? Or should it be, Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year, with new year in upper case?

If you went with version No. 1, you’re correct.

When you refer to the new year as in the next 12 months, new year always goes in lowercase. But when you’re referring to the actual holiday, either New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, or sending the simple greeting Happy New Year, with nothing in front of it, you do so in uppercase. The same goes for Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Season’s Greetings, and Happy Holidays: When these good wishes appear alone, they go in uppercase. (Hanukkah and Christmas, official holidays, always get the uppercase treatment.)

As a general rule, however, keep things in lowercase. In the following example, many would be tempted to uppercase all the big words. Resist the urge!

This is much more elegant—and correct—in every way: Best wishes for peace and joy this holiday season and a new year of health, happiness, and prosperity.

If the thought were expressed in a different format, say in three lines centered on a card, you would still be correct to write it this way.