POLL | When should we stop saying ‘Happy New Year’?

Is it appropriate to stop wishing someone a ‘Happy New Year’ after mid-January?

18 January 2023 - 13:04
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The great 'Happy New Year' debate is afoot.
The great 'Happy New Year' debate is afoot.
Image: jenifoto/123RF

We’ve reached that point of great debate at the start of the new year: when should we stop wishing others a Happy New Year?

If you continue wishing people a Happy New Year beyond what they deem acceptable you may come across as insincere. Conversely, you don’t want to appear rude — particularly not in a work or more formal environment.

Some people stick to the first one or two days. After all, we don’t continue wishing people a Merry Christmas after Christmas Day.

To wish someone Happy New Year is a great gesture. It does, however, have a timeframe in which it is appropriate to still wish someone Happy New Year
Riandi Conradie

But it isn’t strange to continue wishing people a Happy New Year for the first week of January.

In South Africa, it is common to wish people a Happy New Year well into January — at least until people have returned to work after taking leave over the festive season and schools have reopened.

But beyond that? Is it acceptable to continue extending your wishes after mid-month — perhaps even to the end of January?

“To wish someone Happy New Year is a great gesture,” says Riandi Conradie, director of The South African Etiquette Academy. “It does, however, have a time frame in which it is appropriate to still wish someone Happy New Year.

“It is seen appropriate if you extend compliments of the season until the first week of January by saying ‘Happy New Year’. By mid-January, if you see someone you haven't seen yet in the new year, rather acknowledge that it’s the first time you see them after the holidays. You can do so by saying ‘I hope 2023 had a great start for you’.”

Her advice? After mid-January we do not need to wish a “Happy New Year” any more.


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