Happy People Holiday Good Labor Work Shopping General

Americans say "Happy Holidays" in December and early January as a general and non-religious greeting to wish people a happy holiday season, which usually includes Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year. A lot of people still say "Merry Christmas," even though the person they are speaking to may not celebrate Christmas. More and more, to avoid this situation, people say "Happy Holidays," which may be even more popular now than "Merry Christmas" as a general holiday greeting. After Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa have passed, people usually simply say "Happy New Year."

So how do you wish someone a good holiday if it's not December, especially for many of the more minor holidays, such as Labor Day, Memorial Day, and President's Day? And even the more popular ones, such as Halloween and Thanksgiving? People almost always say "Happy + [name of holiday]": "Happy Labor Day," "Happy President's Day" (though people "seldom" (rarely; almost never) say this), "Happy Halloween," and "Happy Thanksgiving." It is also very common for people to say, "Have a good/nice + [name of holiday]," such as "Have a good Labor Day" or "Have a nice Memorial Day." And if someone says this to you, you can say in response: "Thanks. You, too."

Keep in mind that "holiday" can also means "vacation," the days away from work or school when you can relax and have fun. You may hear people say "Have a good holiday" if the days off from work or school "coincides" (occur at the same time) with a federal or state holiday. However, if someone is taking a week off from work for their own purposes, then it is far more common to say, "Have a good/nice vacation."