capitalization - How should "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year" be capitalized?


How should "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year" be capitalized?


Here are some examples taken from some of the top results on Google:



I’d like to be among the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas.


Share the spirit of peace and joy on this occasion of Merry Christmas with your acquaintances and loved ones.


Just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or a Happy whatever you are celebrating at this time of year.



And here is what Wiktionary says:



Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



Is this capitalization correct? If so, does this mean that "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year" are proper nouns?



Answer



As others have mentioned, Christmas and New Year are proper nouns, and thus are capitalized. Generally the phrases "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year" are used in greetings, as headings, or in some other isolated way, and thus "Happy" and "Merry" are the first word of the sentence, and thus those words are capitalized.



Happy New Year!



is a sentence by itself, and thus Happy should be capitalized. It would not be necessary to capitalize "birthday" if you were saying "Happy birthday" instead of "Happy New Year".



I wish you a merry Christmas and happy New Year.



is how I'd capitalize the words if they weren't being used on their own, but rather in a longer sentence.


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