It is time to finally bid farewell to one of the most difficult years in the recent time—2020! Oh, what a year it has been! So many challenges, while we continue to deal with the ongoing pandemic. Not that any of us are expecting things to change overnight, but somewhere all of us are a little relieved that the year has come towards its end. Celebrating New Year’s Eve will be different this year, and people are opting for virtual ways to ring in 2021. There is so much to prepare, but the last thing you want to worry about is how to wish someone, whether to put the apostrophe or not, and the letter ‘s.’ So, is it Happy New Year or Happy New Years or New Year’s? In this article, we bring you the details and how you can wish your friends and family, correctly to begin 2021 with cheer.

The holiday season has its own charm. Be it Christmas or the New Year's Eve; the season fills the air with joy and hope. But both the festivity have its challenges as well, when it comes to wishing someone correctly. Even though the traditions were followed since years now, sending a cheerful greeting in the appropriate way might confuse some. For years, Merry Christmas and Happy Christmas have created quite a confusion among people and so, did Happy New Year or Happy New Years!

Is it Happy New Year or Happy New Years or New Year’s?

For New Year’s, we use the apostrophe, when we are talking about December 31 or January 1 resolutions. An apostrophe is used to show possession or something that belongs to another thing. For instance: New Year’s Eve—the last day of the year, New Year’s Resolutions—to list down things you promise to follow in the coming year. In these cases, there is a relationship of belonging between the New Year and the noun—eve.

For New Years, you need to know something significant. Grammarly notes New Year’s is the end of one year and the beginning of another year. Yes, there are two years involved—the old and the new, but only one of them is new. Hence, you cannot have the occasion to say, ‘Happy New Years,’ because ‘Years’ is plural and there is only one year happening at a time.

Here is what to say at midnight and for at least the first weeks in January—Happy New Year. There is no extra ‘s’ or an apostrophe ‘s.’ New Year comes up when people are generally talking about the year, often before it has begun and still early in the year.

Now that you are clear with what might have been puzzling your mind, we hope you end the year with positivity, and look forward to a brighter and better future. And by the way, Happy New Year 2021, in advance!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 19, 2020 04:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).