What’s the deadline for accepting Happy New Year Wishes?

person in white and pink striped long sleeve shirt

If there’s something more cliche than gifting and receiving Soanpapdi on Diwali, it is the Happy New Year wishes. Saying Happy New Year to each and everyone with a smiling face is prevalent universally. The only day one would smile and greet others with the same intensity is the day when one is throwing a reception for the wedding. The smile gets inverted after that anyway. But the question looming over our heads is this: What’s the date by which you are going to accept Happy New Year’s wishes? Is it the first week of January? Or Mid-January? Or if you are meeting someone for the first time in late January? Is it really required to video call or just a ‘Same to you’ on Whatsapp would suffice?

Over the years, we have got accustomed to dodging wishing anyone first. We wait for them to make the first move. Because you don’t want to be desperate, do you? But till when it is okay to politely accept anyone else wishing us? Thankfully, we Indians are very much of adjustable nature and don’t mind multiple New Year wishes. Because, as time will tell, once we enter March and April, there will be a shower of state-wise New Years’. Navaratri, Gudi Padwa, Ugadi, Vishu, etc. to name a few. Then, we would have to repeat the cycle all over again for pleasing our domicile state, as well as the state of residence, and for religious reasons too if that rows your boat.

Then as soon as state-wise New Years are done, you are welcomed and garlanded with the Financial New Year. Happy New Year again from the Income Tax Department. You will have to plan for your investments and we all know what a pain that is. To have investments, one has to earn good money too, right? Just a few days would pass, then there would be another new year for the education system. If the vaccine does its trick, 2021 might have everything reopening into the new term, semester, or the session in July? (I’m just being optimistic!) So, again a new year of sorts and wishes would be flowing in the air again.

So half of the year is over but New Year’s wishes cease to exist. Don’t they! To make it simple, it should be accepted that whenever you talk to a new person or a person you haven’t contacted for a long time but talking to for the first time in 2021, it is fine to wish them a Happy New Year as long as they say it first.

Photo by Noah on Unsplash


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