Festival and Holiday Posts: Get the Tone Right
Decide which festivals and holidays your business should post about, what to say, and when to skip. A post-or-skip matrix, greetings and rewrites.
Post about a festival when the people you serve or employ celebrate it, when you have something real to say, and when the day is a celebration rather than a fast or a day of mourning. Otherwise a short greeting, a practical opening-hours post, or nothing at all is the respectful choice.
This guide gives you a post-or-skip matrix, greeting wording checked against reputable sources, before-and-after rewrites, and questions to ask the people who actually celebrate. For dates, use A Local Business Social Media Calendar With Real Dates; this page is about tone.
The post-or-skip matrix
Answer four questions about the festival, then find your row.
- Relevance: do a meaningful share of your customers or staff celebrate it?
- Connection: do you have something genuine to say or show: a team member who celebrates, a dish you actually make, a change to your hours?
- Tone of the day: is it a celebration, or a fast, a day of remembrance or mourning?
- Commerce: does the festival itself involve buying gifts, food or new clothes, so that an offer would be useful rather than opportunistic?
| Your answers | Decision | What to post |
|---|---|---|
| Relevant, connected, celebratory, gifting is part of it | Post, offer can fit | Greeting plus a useful offer or order deadline. Example: a sweet shop's Diwali gift boxes |
| Relevant, connected, celebratory, no gifting | Post, no sale | A greeting, a photo of your team or your food, a story about how you mark it |
| Relevant but no real connection | Short greeting or practical post | One line of greeting, or your opening hours. No costume or theme you do not understand |
| A fast, remembrance or solemn day | Quiet post or skip | A respectful acknowledgement, or hours only. No discounts, no jokes |
| A month of fasting (Ramadan) | Practical and timed | Opening hours, an evening menu, a greeting at the start and at Eid. Avoid pushing daytime food at people who are fasting |
| Not relevant to your customers or staff | Skip | Nothing. Silence is not disrespect |
| Not sure | Ask first | Use the questions in the consultation section below before you post |
Fasts and days of remembrance
Most tone mistakes happen here, because the name of the day sounds like a holiday.
- Memorial Day (US). The US Department of Veterans Affairs describes it as a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in service, distinct from Veterans Day, which thanks all who served. A "Memorial Day mega sale" post reads badly to many families. If you post, make it a remembrance post, and put long-weekend hours in a separate post.
- Yom Kippur. My Jewish Learning says the Day of Atonement is not a sad day and that warm greetings are appropriate, but it is a fast day. Food promotions on the day miss the point. A deli that makes break-fast platters should take orders before the fast, not during it.
- Ramadan. A month of daytime fasting for many Muslims. Late opening hours and an evening menu are useful posts. A "lunch special" with Ramadan hashtags is not.
- Remembrance Day (Canada and elsewhere, 11 November). Canada's government lists it among the country's national dates. Treat it like Memorial Day: remembrance, not retail.
Greeting wording basics
Plain English is always acceptable: "Wishing everyone celebrating a happy [festival]". Use a greeting in another language only if someone who celebrates has checked it for you.
| Occasion | Common greeting | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha | "Eid Mubarak" (blessed Eid) | Two different Eids, months apart. Name the right one. Al Jazeera notes other languages have their own greetings, such as "Selamat Lebaran" in Indonesia |
| Ramadan | "Ramadan Mubarak" (blessed Ramadan) or "Ramadan Kareem" (generous Ramadan) | Gulf News reports both are widely used and accepted, usually at the start of the month |
| Diwali | "Happy Diwali" | Observed by Hindus, and also by Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists, each with their own meaning (PBS NewsHour). Sikhs mark Bandi Chhor Divas at the same time |
| Lunar New Year | "Happy Lunar New Year", or the name your customers use | The US Congressional Research Service describes celebrations by people of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese descent: Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, Korean Seollal, Vietnamese Tết. "Lunar New Year" includes all of them; "Chinese New Year" is fine if your audience is Chinese |
| Yom Kippur | "G'mar chatima tovah", or "Have an easy fast" / "a meaningful fast" | My Jewish Learning lists all of these as acceptable |
| Thanksgiving | "Happy Thanksgiving" | Different days: the US federal holiday falls on 26 November 2026 and 25 November 2027 (OPM); Canada's is the second Monday of October |
| Memorial Day (US) | No "happy". A line of remembrance | See the section above |
For Hanukkah, Holi, Vaisakhi, Passover, Christmas and others, "Happy [name]" in plain English is a safe start. Spellings vary (Hanukkah and Chanukah, for example); pick the one your customers use and keep it the same everywhere.
Rewrites: from awkward to respectful
All examples are fictional, for a café, a bakery and a salon.
| Occasion | Before (example) | After (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Diwali, café | "Diwali Dhamaka: 50% off everything. Light up your savings" | "Happy Diwali to everyone celebrating this week. Our cardamom and pistachio sweets boxes are back; order by [date] for collection before [date]" |
| Eid al-Fitr, salon | "Happy Ramadan Eid. Get glam for the party" | "Eid Mubarak to our clients and team celebrating Eid al-Fitr. We open early on [day] for Eid appointments; book through the link in bio" |
| Lunar New Year, bakery with mostly Vietnamese customers | "Happy Chinese New Year" with generic dragon clip art | "Happy Lunar New Year to the families celebrating Tết with us. Pre-order [item] by [date]" with a photo of the actual product your team makes |
| Memorial Day, any shop | "Happy Memorial Day. Biggest sale of the year" | "Today we remember the service members who gave their lives. We open at noon." Sales, if any, go in a separate post |
| Ramadan, restaurant | "Lunch deal: 2-for-1 burgers all day #Ramadan" | "Ramadan Mubarak. This month we're open until [time], with an iftar set from sunset" |
| Yom Kippur, deli | "Fasting? Treat yourself to our new tasting menu" | "G'mar chatima tovah to everyone observing. Break-fast platter orders close [day, time], before the fast begins" |
| Thanksgiving, Toronto café | A US-style post in late November | A post for the second Monday of October, the date your Canadian customers actually celebrate |
Notice what changed: the greeting comes first, the product is real, the timing respects the day, and the wording names the people celebrating instead of turning the festival into a theme. More on finding your own voice is in Write Captions That Sound Like Your Business.
Ask the people who celebrate
The best check costs nothing: ask a team member or regular customer who celebrates, a week or two before. Make it easy to say no; nobody should feel they have to speak for their whole community.
Consultation questions
Send privately, and thank them whatever they answer.
- Opening
- We're thinking of posting for [festival] this year. Would you be willing to look at it before it goes up? Completely fine if not.
- Relevance
- Is this a festival our customers would expect us to mark, or would it feel forced?
- Wording
- Is this greeting right? Is there a phrase you'd use, and how should it be spelled?
- Images
- Is this photo or image appropriate? Is anything in it sacred, or from a different festival or tradition?
- Offer
- Would a special offer feel normal for this festival, or out of place?
- Timing
- Which day should it go up? Does the date change by region or depend on the moon?
- Staff
- Would you like time off, a mention, or neither? (Ask separately from the post.)
If a team member is happy to be featured, get their permission for the photo and the caption first, as you would for a customer. See Can You Repost Customer Reviews and Photos? The Rules.
Images: what to avoid
- Religious figures and sacred texts on sale graphics. Do not put a deity, a holy book or a place of worship next to a discount.
- Mixed-up symbols. Do not borrow imagery from a different festival or a different country's tradition because it looks festive. Ask.
- Generic stock costumes. A photo of your real team, food or shop is more honest than stock models in traditional dress.
- AI-generated scenes. If you use one, keep it simple, check every detail with someone who celebrates, and label it as AI where your platform or local rules expect it. Text on images is covered in AI Images With Text: Make Social Posts Readable.
Dates: check them for your region
Many festivals move each year, and some are confirmed only days before. Al Jazeera explains that Eid al-Fitr begins with the sighting of the new moon and can fall on different days in different countries. The Congressional Research Service says Lunar New Year falls between 21 January and 19 February. PBS NewsHour notes Diwali follows the Hindu lunar calendar and usually lands in late October or early November.
If an AI tool drafts your posts, including KeepsPosted, write the festivals your customers celebrate and the greetings your staff approved into its brand rules, and keep festival posts on approve-first rather than posting automatically. Before You Let AI Post for You: 10 Guardrails explains why.
Before you post: a final check
- Our customers or staff celebrate this, and we have something real to say.
- It is a celebration, or we have kept the tone quiet for a fast or a day of remembrance.
- The greeting is the right one for this festival, and spelled the way our customers spell it.
- Someone who celebrates has seen it, or we kept it to a plain-English greeting.
- The image shows our real business, with nothing sacred next to a price.
- Any offer fits the festival, and it is not timed for when people are fasting.
- The date is confirmed for our region.
- We treat the festivals of each community we serve with the same care.
Common questions
Should a business post about religious holidays?
Yes, if your customers or staff celebrate them and you have something genuine to say. Keep it to a greeting or practical information unless the festival naturally involves gifts or food. Skip festivals that have no connection to the people you serve.
Is it Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year?
Both are used. Lunar New Year covers Chinese, Korean (Seollal) and Vietnamese (Tết) celebrations, according to the US Congressional Research Service. Use the name your own customers use.
Is it okay to run a sale for Eid or Diwali?
Often, yes, because gifts, sweets and new clothes are part of many families' celebrations. Lead with the greeting, keep the offer useful, and avoid religious imagery on the sale graphic. Do not run food promotions aimed at people during fasting hours in Ramadan.
What should I post on Memorial Day?
A short remembrance post, or only your opening hours. The VA describes Memorial Day as a day to honor those who died in military service, so avoid "Happy Memorial Day" and sales language in the same post.
Sources
- Al Jazeera: Eid al-Fitr, everything you need to know (moon sighting, Eid Mubarak) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Gulf News: Ramadan Kareem or Ramadan Mubarak, which greeting is right? (19 Feb 2026) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- PBS NewsHour (AP): What is Diwali? (10 Nov 2023) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Congressional Research Service: Lunar New Year fact sheet (R46674, January 2026) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- My Jewish Learning: How to greet someone on Yom Kippur (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- US Department of Veterans Affairs: The difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day (checked 12 Nov 2026 (page body did not load; read via search index summary))
- US Office of Personnel Management: Federal holidays (Thanksgiving 2026 and 2027) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Government of Canada: Discover Canada, Canadian symbols (Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
Written by the KeepsPosted editorial team, with AI assistance for drafting. Greetings, date rules and the meaning of each day come from the sources listed, read on 12 November 2026; the post-or-skip matrix, rewrites and consultation questions are our own suggestions. If you celebrate one of these festivals and see something we got wrong, tell us.
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