Wishing Others a Good Holiday
Americans say “Happy Holidays” in December and early January as a general and non-religious greeting to wish people a happy holiday season, which usually includes Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year. A lot of people still say “Merry Christmas,” even though the person they are speaking to may not celebrate Christmas. More and more, to avoid this situation, people say “Happy Holidays,” which may be even more popular now than “Merry Christmas” as a general holiday greeting. After Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa have passed, people usually simply say “Happy New Year.”
在12月和1月初，美國人通常會說「節日快樂」作為一般的、非宗教性的問候語，祝福大家有一個愉快的節日季，這通常包括光明節、聖誕節、寬扎節和新年。許多人仍然會說「聖誕快樂」，即使他們知道對方可能不慶祝聖誕節。為了避免這種情況，越來越多的人選擇說「節日快樂」，這現在可能比「聖誕快樂」更受歡迎，作為一般的節日問候語。在光明節、聖誕節和寬扎節過後，人們通常只說「新年快樂」。So how do you wish someone a good holiday if it’s not December, especially for many of the more minor holidays, such as Labor Day, Memorial Day, and President’s Day? And even the more popular ones, such as Halloween and Thanksgiving? People almost always say “Happy + [name of holiday]“: “Happy Labor Day,” “Happy President’s Day” (though people “seldom” (rarely; almost never) say this), “Happy Halloween,” and “Happy Thanksgiving.” It is also very common for people to say, “Have a good/nice + [name of holiday],” such as “Have a good Labor Day” or “Have a nice Memorial Day.” And if someone says this to you, you can say in response: “Thanks. You, too.”
那如果不是12月，你要怎麼祝別人節日愉快呢？尤其是對於勞動節、陣亡將士紀念日和總統日這些較小的節日呢？甚至包括萬聖節和感恩節這些更受歡迎的節日？人們幾乎總是說「節日快樂+節日名稱」：例如「勞動節快樂」、「總統日快樂」（雖然人們「很少」（很少；幾乎從不）這樣說）、「萬聖節快樂」和「感恩節快樂」。人們也常說「度過愉快的+節日名稱」，例如「度過一個愉快的勞動節」或「度過一個愉快的陣亡將士紀念日」。如果有人這樣對你說，你可以回應：「謝謝，你也是」。
Keep in mind that “holiday” can also mean “vacation,” the days away from work or school when you can relax and have fun. You may hear people say “Have a good holiday” if the days off from work or school “coincide” (occur at the same time) with a federal or state holiday. However, if someone is taking a week off from work for their own purposes, then it is far more common to say, “Have a good/nice vacation.”
請記住，「holiday」也可以指「假期」，即離開工作或學校的日子，可以放鬆和享受。你可能會聽到人們說「節日愉快」，如果這些假期與聯邦或州的節日「重合」（同時發生）。然而，如果某人因自己的原因休息一週，那麼更常見的是說「度過愉快/愉快的假期」。
重要單字解釋
- holiday /ˈhɑːlədeɪ/ — 節日，假期
- non-religious /ˌnɒn-rɪˈlɪdʒəs/ — 非宗教性的
- greeting /ˈɡriːtɪŋ/ — 問候語
- celebrate /ˈsɛlɪbreɪt/ — 慶祝
- coincide /ˌkoʊɪnˈsaɪd/ — 同時發生，重合
- vacation /vəˈkeɪʃn/ — 假期
