Yesterday, a dear friend chimed, ‘Happy New Year, Betty!” I immediately reciprocated with the same cheery greeting.
Now that we’re more than a week into the new year, how long is it socially kosher to say Happy New Year?
Inquiring minds want to know.
What’s the shelf life of a cheerful Happy New Year? Does the freshness outlast sandwich bread in a bread box or refrigerated whole milk?
Maybe the greeting is kosher as long as the salutation is genuine or acceptable.
I always say, “To each his own.” What’s acceptable is left up to the greeter and receiver.
But know that there are traditions, unwritten rules, and codes of etiquette regarding new year tidings and wishes. Some people have strong opinions and even a drop-dead date for the greeting, and others don’t.
For those in the mainstream, a breach of etiquette can be embarrassing; no one likes committing a holiday faux pas in public.
People who return to work on February 1 after being off for a month may or may not feel OK about wishing co-workers a happy new year.
We understand it’s hard to communicate best wishes to everyone within a week or two of a new year, but no one wants to be tacky.
Indeed, a Happy New Year greeting isn’t like a Happy Fourth of July, Happy Thanksgiving, or Happy Valentine’s Day. Technically, the new year is 12 months, unlike a holiday which is a designated day.
That’s why it’s Happy New Year, not Happy New Year’s Day! This allows us a little liberty to express the glad tidings longer. And we love it!
But how long is too long?
What if you don’t see or greet some friends and relatives until mid-January or the first week of February? Are there ways to express new year wishes well into January or February without feeling ridiculous or like you’ve been in hibernation and don’t know what month it is?
Perhaps one could say, “I hope you’re having a good 2023” as late as January 31 or into February.
Some people would say, just forget about it. By mid-January, we’re in the saddle of the new year with our bootstraps tied, and the days are no longer new.
Perhaps when the new year no longer feels like a new year is a good time to stop and desist from the greeting. The new year is also like a new dress or pair of shoes; once you’ve worn them a couple of times, they’re used, not new.
Why not take a cue from the kids? They think the new year is no longer new when they return back to school.
I like the glitter, glam, pizzazz, and excitement about the new year. But let’s face it, the newness of everything wears off or fades.
Pretty soon, everything becomes an old hat.
So, although there’s no defined rule about when we should stop new year’s greetings, the Who’s Who among social etiquette elites suggest after the first week of January to hold your peace. Exist the Happy New Year train.
But if someone extends a Happy New Year my way today, tomorrow, or in the near future, I will wholeheartedly extend one back!
My advice is to just be you.
I hope you enjoy Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s poem, The Year.
What can be said in New Year rhymes,
That’s not been said a thousand times?
The new years come, the old years go,
We know we dream, we dream we know.
We rise up laughing with the light,
We lie down weeping with the night.
We hug the world until it stings,
We curse it then and sigh for wings.
We live, we love, we woo, we wed,
We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead.
We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,
And that’s the burden of the year.
Be Happy and well.