title capitalization

Do you capitalize “Happy Holidays?”

December is that unique month where people do celebrate a wide range of holidays. One of the obvious tasks that most people will be engaged in will be to send their loved ones greetings and best wishes. It has become a common norm for many to use the phrase “Happy Holidays” when sending greeting cards or wishing someone well during the holiday season. Why? The obvious reason for this case is because people want to wish their loved ones the best in the many holidays that they will be celebrating in one go.   So, do you capitalize "Happy Holidays?" Yes, because even though the word “Holidays” isn’t a proper noun, it’s used in this phrase to replace the many of the holidays people might be celebrating such as Christmas, New Years, and Hanukah. It is therefore common practice to capitalize the phrase since people have come to accept it. Even though the word “Holidays” isn’t a proper noun, it’s used in this phrase to replace the many of the holidays people could be celebrating such as Christmas, New Years, and Hanukah. It is therefore a common practice to use the phrase as it is since people have come to accept it. It’s also acceptable to use Happy Holidays in a sentence like, “I’m wishing you Happy Holidays together with your family."

2017-10-24T16:21:43+00:00 0 Comments
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Do You Capitalize the Names of Holidays?

Secular and religious holidays are usually capitalized. This includes the words such as eve and day if they form part of the holiday name. This is because these nouns are proper nouns that refer to the holiday specifically. The rule of capitalization, therefore, is that their first letter is capitalized. These holidays, usually correspond to celebrations of specific important events such as the commemoration of Father’s Day, Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day, national holidays that commemorate national events such as Independence Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. This rule is also observed for religious occasions such as Lent, Advent and Christmas day for Christians, Ramadhan for Muslims, and Hanukkah for Jews. Holiday names are special nouns that are unique and thus they are not common nouns. In grammar, it is therefore prudent to capitalize them to emphasize their importance and uniqueness.

2017-10-24T15:43:40+00:00 0 Comments
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Is New Year Capitalized?

During the holidays, the use of new year vs New Year gets confusing for most people and this should never be the case. It is important for everybody to have the right knowledge of the proper capitalization of both holiday terms and holidays in order to avoid embarrassment when sending out holiday greetings.   Is New Year Capitalized? The short answer is that New Year (and Happy New Year) are capitalized. This a very common question especially for teachers just before schools break for the holidays. It is also a conundrum for anyone who sends out holiday cards.   Why New Year is Capitalized The distinction between new year and New Year depends on whether the reference is being made on the year or the holiday itself. If a reference is being made on the holiday, then it should be capitalized e.g. Happy New Year! However, when someone is making reference to the year itself then it should not be capitalized e.g. It is the second day of the new year. It is grammatical and customary to capitalize both secular and religious holidays. In addition, when the words eve and day constitute the holiday name then they should be also capitalized. This is regardless of whether the name of the holiday is shortened or not e.g. New Year’s Eve. One easy way to remember is never to capitalize in instances when you are using an article such as the or a. So, is new year capitalized? It depends on how it is being used.   Conclusion Hopefully, we have cleared up any confusion that might exist when sending out holiday cards to your friends and [...]

2017-10-24T00:57:58+00:00 0 Comments
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Is Merry Christmas Capitalized?

You have already written holiday cards and are now ready for dispatch, but you decide to, first, double-check your use of capitalization. So, do you capitalize Merry Christmas? Well, yes! The reason is, unlike the word holiday, which does not refer to any officially elected day but rather the entire season, Christmas Mass is the official name of a characterized religious holiday. So, provided you are writing it as a proper noun, and as such refers to a specific day, Merry Christmas capitalized, should appear on all your cards.   Shortening Holiday Terms When you combine the words such as day and eve with the holiday name, make sure you capitalize Christmas and the accompanying words. Note that shortening the holiday name does except it from capitalization because they still refer to specific events in the region’s history. In the same way, always capitalize proper holiday nouns such as New Years’ Eve, Thanksgiving (celebrated in The United States), Halloween and Boxing Day (observed in the United Kingdom) and other similar terms.   When Not to Capitalize the Accompanying Words When, for instance, you are referring to an individual being merry on that particular day you don’t capitalize the complimentary word. So, telling someone to have a happy Christmas (without caps in the adjective) is grammatically correct. Your use of the adjective joyous is not unique since you could as well have chosen any other words with the same meaning such as happy, merry, festive, sober and so forth. However, Christmas has to be in caps because even in the sentence it refers to a designated occasion.   Conclusion Merry Christmas is always capitalized because Christmas [...]

2017-10-24T00:58:52+00:00 0 Comments
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Are seasons capitalized?

No. We always capitalize days of the week and months of the year in writing. However, when it comes to seasons of the year, we don't capitalize. If we did, we would have to capitalize every particular time period, even those occurring throughout the day, like morning and afternoon. This would look absurd and get quite confusing. Seasons, such as fall, spring, winter, and summer are general nouns, not proper nouns. Days of the week and months of the year are proper nouns instead so they are always capitalized. Therefore, the capitalization that applies to proper nouns isn't applicable to seasons. There are situations, however, when seasons are capitalized. For example, at the beginning of a sentence where the rule of the capitalizing the first letter applies (E.g.: Summer is the best season of the year, but fall is not). Other examples of when you can capitalize fall are when the season forms part of a proper noun, or when it's a part of a title. For example, in 'Fall Games' or 'Fall Semester.' Another example is when seasons are personified in a piece of creative writing, such as in poems. But this only applies when seasons are given life in such writing. Overall, the general rule is that we don't capitalize seasons, fall included.

2017-09-21T17:21:41+00:00 0 Comments
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Is Earth Capitalized?

  The word earth often confuses people when it comes to capitalization. Is it earth or Earth? When do you capitalize it? The confusion arises because Earth can be either a proper noun or a common noun depending on the context in which it is used. If Earth is used as a proper noun, then it is capitalized. If used as a common noun, then the word Earth is lowercased. According to English capitalization rules, proper nouns are always capitalized. Therefore, when referring to the Earth as a planet or celestial body, it should be capitalized such as in the following sentence: The Earth takes about 365 days to orbit the Sun. In this case, both Earth and Sun are proper nouns so they must be capitalized. When Earth is not used as a proper noun, such as when you are referring to the ground, soil, or surface of the Earth, then the word is lowercase since it is a common noun. The following is an example of when Earth is referred to as a common noun: The construction workers dug into the earth at the site of the new skyscraper.   It is important to remember that idioms using the word Earth also have to be lowercase such as in:  down to earth, what on earth, and four corners of the earth. These are cases where earth takes the definite article so it should not be capitalized.   For other capitalization questions, check out our FAQs or use our free title capitalization tool.

2017-06-22T00:32:21+00:00 0 Comments
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Is Father’s Day capitalized?

Yes, Father's Day is capitalized when referring to the holiday. Reason #1: While Father's Day is not an official federal holiday, it is considered to be one of the most common celebrations, like Groundhog Day and April Fools' Day. That's why it is always capitalized. Alternatively, the following words like father, mother, and dad are broadly termed as 'family names.' They are generally used as a common noun. However, whenever you are using these family names in the form of proper nouns, they need to be capitalized. For your reference, the examples are given below: I) My father is not well. - Here the word 'father' has been used as a common noun and it isn't capitalized. II) I have planned to celebrate Father's Day on 18th June. - Here the word 'father' has been used as a proper noun. Thus, it is capitalized.   Reason #2: Father's Day is widely celebrated to honor fathers as individuals. This is the day when the children portray their sincere respect and gratitude towards their fathers. This day is special and unique to every father. Considering its significance and importance, the term Father's Day is capitalized.   For more Father's Day grammar, try the Grammarly Father's Day quiz:  

2017-06-15T05:02:19+00:00 0 Comments
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Do you capitalize spring?

The short answer is no, spring is not capitalized. Seasons are considered as common nouns and as a general rule of capitalization, they are not capitalized when used in writing. This rule applies to all seasons, including spring.     This rule is general but there are some exceptions in which you should capitalize seasons and capitalize spring. The only time you will see the word spring capitalized is when it is used in a title or as the first word of a sentence. Another exception is when the season is personified in poetry or it is a name of an event or a person, such as in "Spring Semester." Apart from these three exceptions, the word spring should always start with lowercase. The most common mistake that people make when writing the names of the seasons is getting confused about the capitalization but these rules will help you write it correctly. Apart from these three exceptions, the word spring should always start lowercase. The most common mistake that people make when writing the names of the seasons is getting confused about the capitalization but these rules will help you write it correctly.

2017-06-02T05:51:16+00:00 0 Comments
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Do you capitalize summer?

The short answer is no, the word "summer" is a generic noun which does not require capitalization as per rules of capitalization. This rule applies to the names of all the seasons. You do not capitalize seasons when used in writing.     This rule has an exception when the word is used in a title,  is used as a proper noun, or is the first word of a sentence. When you start a sentence with "summer" or are using it in a title, it should be capitalized. If you use summer as a proper noun, such as in "Summer Semester," it must also be capitalized. Another exception in which you should capitalize summer is when it is personified in poetry. Apart from these exceptions, there is no need to capitalize seasons, including summer, for any writing purposes. So, the next time you are confused about capitalization rules for seasons, read these rules carefully to avoid writing summer capitalized in the wrong places.  

2017-06-04T05:23:10+00:00 0 Comments
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Is the season winter capitalized?

You should not capitalize the word winter since it is a common noun and not a proper noun. But there are obviously a few exceptions where one has to capitalize the word winter. When winter is used as a title or when it is used at the beginning of a sentence (such as "Winter is Coming") are two examples of when winter should be capitalized. Also when winter is used as a proper noun it should be capitalized. Winter can also be capitalized it when it is personified such as in a poem.   The word winter does not necessarily need to be capitalized considering it is a generic noun. People normally confuse this word for a proper noun and capitalize it based on it being a proper noun. Generally, the word winter should not be capitalized. For example, The temperatures are usually low during the winter season.   The Word Winter as a Title When the word winter is used like a title one will have to capitalize it since it is a rule to capitalize titles. For example, The Winter Holiday Was Very Chilly “Winter” was included in a title and we must follow title capitalization rules and capitalize it.   The Words Winter as a Proper Noun It is a rule in the English language that proper nouns have to be capitalized, so when using the word winter as a proper noun you have to capitalize it. For example, The Winter Gala is an event held every year in December. In this case "Winter Gala" is the name of an event so "winter" is part of a proper noun. Therefore it should be capitalized.

2017-06-03T01:24:35+00:00 0 Comments
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