What to write in a Diwali card

Diwali greetings are warm and short by convention, and the good ones borrow the festival’s own image: light over dark, a fresh start, a house full of people. If it is not your festival, that is fine — nobody expects fluency, and a sincere short greeting is better received than a long one that reaches for detail it does not have. “Happy Diwali” is a complete card.

Warm

Friendly, unfussy, safe with almost anybody.

• Happy Diwali! Wishing you light, sweets and good company.
• Festival of lights — may yours be a bright one. Happy Diwali.
• Wishing you and the family a very happy Diwali.
• Happy Diwali. May the year ahead be a prosperous one.
• Thinking of you all this Diwali. Have a wonderful one.

Funny

A joke with affection behind it. Read the room first.

• Happy Diwali! Save me some of whatever your mum is making.
• Wishing you light, joy and a reasonable amount of mithai.
• Happy Diwali. May your rangoli survive the first visitor.
• Shubh Diwali! I’ll be there for the food, obviously.
• Happy Diwali — may the fireworks be loud and the queue for dinner short.

Heartfelt

For the people you would actually say this to out loud.

• Wishing you a Diwali full of light, and a year that is kind to you.
• May this Diwali bring your family health, warmth and plenty. Happy Diwali.
• Thinking of you all. May the light find its way to every corner this year.
• Happy Diwali. Here’s to new beginnings and the people we share them with.
• Wishing you peace, prosperity and a houseful of the people you love.

Simple

When short is the right answer, and it often is.

• Happy Diwali!
• Shubh Diwali.
• Wishing you a happy Diwali.
• Happy Diwali to you and the family.
• Festival of lights — happy Diwali.

What to avoid

• Don’t call it “Indian Christmas”. It is its own festival with its own meaning.
• Don’t guess at a religious phrase you are unsure of. A plain “Happy Diwali” is always right.
• Don’t assume the date is the same every year — it moves with the lunar calendar.
• Don’t send it late. Diwali greetings are a before-and-on thing, not an after.