Holidays and Celebrations in English: Trick or Treat! and Happy Holidays

A celebration needs only a few phrases: how you mark the day, what you wear, and what you say at the door or in a December email. This guide covers those phrases for Halloween and the holiday season — to celebrate, Trick or treat!, Happy holidays! — and the small difference between a holiday and a vacation.

Prefer to hear it first? The podcast episode Trick or Treat? walks through the same twelve phrases: how people celebrate, Halloween, and the holiday season.

How people celebrate

To celebrate. You celebrate a day or an event because it matters. Name the occasion, or leave it out when the reason is already clear.

A family tradition. The same food, the same walk, the same movie, every year. It can be small. Traditional describes the food or the custom; a family tradition is the phrase people use about their own home.

To get together. Friends or family meet as a group. A get-together is the noun: an informal gathering; it can be small, but there is no fixed size. Let's get together next week is warmer than a plain let's meet. Once you are choosing a day and inviting people, the invitation phrases — Are you free on…?, How about…? — are in our guide to making plans and invitations.

Throw a party

Throw here means organize and host. Nobody throws anything. You might host it at home, at a restaurant, or at work. Say throw a party, have a party, or host a party. Make a party is understandable, but it is not the natural phrase. If you only attend, you go to a party.

A get-together emphasizes meeting informally. A party can be small too; throw a party means organize one.

Halloween: costumes, candy, and pumpkins

Halloween is October 31. In the US it is not automatically a day off: many people go to work or school, then celebrate in the evening. The clothes are a costume. A custom is something people do regularly — a different word.

Dress up alone usually means nice clothes — a suit, a dress. You don't need to dress up — it's casual. Around Halloween, Are you dressing up? means "Are you wearing a costume?" Dress up as usually names the person or character you imitate: at a wedding you dress up, and at Halloween you dress up as a vampire.

Trick or treat! Children go from house to house in costume, knock, and say this. A treat is something nice, usually candy (British English: sweets). A trick is a little joke — the old idea is "give us a treat, or we'll play a trick." Today it is a friendly greeting at the door. The activity is a verb: go trick-or-treating.

To carve a pumpkin is to cut a face into it and put a light inside. The carved pumpkin has its own name: a jack-o'-lantern. You also carve meat at a big dinner. Happy Halloween! is the greeting, and You too! is a natural reply when you want to return the same greeting.

The holiday season: Thanksgiving, gifts, and greetings

In the US, Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November. Canada has Thanksgiving too, earlier, in October. Many families share a meal — often turkey, potatoes, or pumpkin pie — and say what they are thankful for. The menu varies; words for the kitchen are in our food and cooking guide.

To exchange gifts. Everyone gives a gift and gets one. Gift and present mean the same thing here. Before you give it, you wrap it. A warm reply when you receive one is Oh, you shouldn't have! — "thank you, that's too kind." An office version, where each person buys for one coworker, is a gift exchange.

Happy holidays! is a general greeting for the whole season — Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, or whatever someone celebrates. Merry Christmas! names Christmas. Use Happy holidays! when you don't know what the other person celebrates. At work you will hear: Happy holidays, everyone — see you in January!

The holidays, with the, means the season itself: What are you doing for the holidays? In American English that is usually from Thanksgiving through New Year's, especially late December. That question is ordinary small talk; more openers are in our small-talk guide.

The day itself takes on: on Halloween, on Thanksgiving, on New Year's Day. At Christmas refers to the Christmas period, especially in British English. In American English, during the holidays is also common. The full pattern — at a point, on a day, in a longer period — is in prepositions of time.

Holiday or vacation?

In American English, a holiday is a special day, such as Thanksgiving, and a vacation is time away from work. In British English, holiday often means that time away as well: I'm on holiday. A special day is not always a day off. If the celebration includes a trip, airport and hotel phrases are in our travel English guide.

Common mistakes

“Make a party.” Say throw a party, have a party, or host a party. Make a party is understandable, but it is not the natural phrase. If you only attend, you go to a party.

“Costume” and “custom.” A costume is what you wear. A custom is something people regularly do.

“Dress up as” for a wedding. Dress up alone is nice clothes. Dress up as is a costume.

Holiday and vacation are both real words. In American English, Thanksgiving is a holiday, and two weeks at the beach is a vacation. British English uses holiday for that trip: I'm on holiday. Match the variety you are speaking; neither sentence is an error on its own.

“On the holidays.” The season is the holidays or for the holidays. A single day takes on. On the holidays can refer to particular holidays in context; for or over the holidays is more neutral for this seasonal question.

Quick exercise

Complete sentences 1–7 with these words, using each once: celebrate, costume, holidays, pumpkin, throw, together, tradition. In number 8, choose one of the two words.

1. We ___ my grandmother's birthday every year.
2. It's a family ___ — we always watch the same movie in December.
3. The whole family gets ___ at my parents' house.
4. Maya is going to ___ a party on Friday. She sent the invitation this morning.
5. I'm going to dress up as a pirate. I still need a ___.
6. The kids are going to carve a ___ this afternoon.
7. Happy ___ — see you in January!
8. In American English, two weeks away from work is a ___. (holiday / vacation)

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between “Happy holidays!” and “Merry Christmas!”?

Happy holidays! is a general greeting for the whole season — Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, or whatever someone celebrates. Merry Christmas! names Christmas. Use Happy holidays! when you don't know what the other person celebrates.

What is the difference between “holiday” and “vacation”?

In American English, a holiday is a special day, such as Thanksgiving, and a vacation is time away from work. In British English, holiday often means that time away as well: I'm on holiday.

Is it “make a party” or “throw a party”?

Say throw a party, have a party, or host a party. Make a party is understandable, but it is not the natural phrase. If you only attend, you go to a party.