The greeting for each festival, and when to send it
Each festival has words people expect, and a right time to hear them. The table has both. Under it is one greeting per festival, and each festival's own page has six to copy, two warm, two formal and two short.
| Festival | The words most people use | Public holiday in Singapore | When to send it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese New Year | Gong xi fa cai (Mandarin) or Gong hei fat choy (Cantonese) | Yes, two days | In the first few days. The celebrations last 15 days |
| Hari Raya Puasa | Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir dan batin | Yes | On the day, or any day of Syawal, when visits go on |
| Hari Raya Haji | Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha | Yes | On the day. Visits are usually for that day only |
| Deepavali | Happy Deepavali | Yes | The morning of the festival, or the evening before |
| Christmas | Merry Christmas | Yes | The morning, or your last working day before it |
| New Year | Happy New Year | Yes | New Year's Day, or the last working day of the year |
| Mid-Autumn Festival | Happy Mid-Autumn Festival | No | The day itself, or with the mooncakes if you send a box |
| Vesak Day | Wishing you a peaceful Vesak Day | Yes | The morning of the day |
| Thaipusam | Wishing you a blessed Thaipusam | No | The morning of the day, kept short |
| National Day | Happy National Day | Yes | 9 August, the morning of |
Gong xi fa cai and Gong hei fat choy wish the person happiness and prosperity. Selamat is a wish for someone's well-being. Maaf zahir dan batin asks forgiveness for the seen and unseen wrongdoings, a custom of Hari Raya here. The sources are listed at the foot of the page.
Chinese New Year, when visits go on for 15 days, with six more on the Chinese New Year page:
Happy Chinese New Year, [name]! Wishing you and your family good health and good fortune this year.
Hari Raya Puasa, with six more on the Hari Raya page, from warm to formal:
Selamat Hari Raya, [name]! Wishing you and your family a blessed and joyful Hari Raya.
Hari Raya Haji, best sent on the day itself, with six more on the Hari Raya Haji page:
Selamat Hari Raya Haji, [name]! Wishing you and your family a blessed day.
Deepavali, the festival of lights, with six more on the Deepavali page:
Happy Deepavali, [name]! Wishing you and your family a bright and joyful festival of lights.
Christmas, for clients who celebrate it, with six more on the Christmas page:
Merry Christmas, [name]! Wishing you and your family a restful and happy holiday.
New Year, with a thank-you for the year just gone, and six more on the New Year page:
Happy New Year, [name]! Wishing you good health and a great year ahead.
Mid-Autumn Festival, the one to send with mooncakes, with six more on its own page:
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, [name]! Wishing you a happy evening with family under the full moon.
Vesak Day, kept calm and simple, with six more on the Vesak Day page:
Happy Vesak Day, [name]. Wishing you peace and joy.
Thaipusam, kept short and calm, with six more on the Thaipusam page:
Wishing you a blessed Thaipusam, [name].
National Day, on 9 August, with six more on the National Day page:
Happy National Day, [name]! Enjoy the celebrations.
Year-end greetings for any client
December is when most clients expect to hear from you, whatever they celebrate. These four work for Christmas and the New Year at once, so you can send one message in the last two weeks of the year.
Hi [name], thank you for working with me this year. Wishing you and your family a restful holiday and a good year ahead.
Dear [name], season's greetings from all of us at [your company]. Thank you for your trust this year, and best wishes for the new year.
Hi [name], before the year ends, a quick thank you for [the project, the referral, your patience with the delay]. Have a good break.
Happy holidays, [name]! See you in [month].
Greetings by who they're for
The same festival reads differently to a client of ten years and a client of ten days. Swap the festival's name into any of these.
A client you've worked with for years
Happy [festival], [name]! It's been [number] years since we first met, and I'm grateful for every one. Wishing you and your family a wonderful [festival].
A client who came to you this year
Hi [name], wishing you and your family a happy [festival]. Thank you for choosing to work with me this year.
A client you haven't spoken to in a while
Hi [name], it's been a while, so I wanted to say happy [festival] to you and your family. I hope the year has been good to you.
A business partner or supplier
Dear [name], warm [festival] wishes to you and the team at [company]. Thank you for being such a good partner this year.
How to send a festive greeting to a client
A greeting does its work when it reads as meant for one person. Five rules keep it that way:
- Send it to each client on their own, with their name in it. A greeting that reaches a group reads like it went to everyone.
- Send it on the morning of the festival. If you'll be busy that day, the evening before is fine, and for Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Puasa the first few days still count.
- Keep business out of it. No offer, no reminder and no "by the way" in the same message. Save the follow-up for the next working week.
- Use the festival's own words only with clients who celebrate it. For anyone else, a short "Happy Deepavali" or "Wishing you a peaceful Vesak Day" is kind and enough.
- On Thaipusam and the Mid-Autumn Festival, most clients are at work, since neither is a public holiday. Keep those wishes to one line.
If you're sending a box of mooncakes, the greeting can go in with it. Mooncakes are commonly given between businesses and clients, as a sign of respect.
Remember who celebrates what
The hard part is the list, not the words: which clients celebrate Deepavali, who you met at Hari Raya last year, who hasn't heard from you since June.
In Palby CRM, notes sit on each client's record, so "celebrates Hari Raya, has two kids" is there the next time you open it. Each pipeline comes with ten ready-made views, and two help here. Birthdays lists whose birthday is coming, and the 30-day view shows who you haven't been in touch with for a month. Open it the week before a festival and you'll see who to write to first.
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Questions about festive greetings for clients
One with their name, the festival's usual greeting and a short wish for their family, sent on its own. "Happy Deepavali, [name]! Wishing you and your family a bright and joyful festival of lights" is enough.
Thank them for the year, wish them and their family a good break, and leave out any offer. "Season's greetings from all of us at [your company]. Thank you for your trust this year" works for any client in December.
Yes. A short, sincere wish for a festival your client celebrates is a kind thing to send. Use the festival's usual greeting and keep it about them.
WhatsApp for clients you already message there, email for the ones you only email. Either way, send each one to one client, so it reads as meant for them.
Yes. Copy as many as you like, change the words, and send them from your own phone or email.
Sources
- Roots.gov.sg (National Heritage Board), Chinese New Year, read 2 November 2026
- Roots.gov.sg (National Heritage Board), Hari Raya Puasa, read 2 November 2026
- Roots.gov.sg (National Heritage Board), Hari Raya Haji, read 2 November 2026
- Roots.gov.sg (National Heritage Board), Mid-Autumn Festival, read 2 November 2026
- China Highlights, Chinese New Year greetings, read 2 November 2026
- Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kamus Dewan, "selamat", read 2 November 2026
- MUIS, the Mufti's remarks at a Harmony Centre Hari Raya event, read 2 November 2026
- Ministry of Manpower, Public holidays, read 2 November 2026