A Lunar New Year card for a client is three or four lines: their name, thanks for the year just gone, a wish for health and good fortune in the year ahead, and your own name. Add one greeting in their language, such as 新年快乐 (Xīnnián kuàilè). The next Lunar New Year is Saturday 6 February 2027, the start of the Year of the Goat. Twenty messages to copy follow.
What do you write in a Lunar New Year card for a client?
Thank them for something real from the past year, then wish them health, luck and a good year for their business and family. Wishes for prosperity are normal and polite here, not pushy. Sign as a person, not as the company. Leave out offers, invoices and anything about next year's prices.
Say "Lunar New Year" unless you know the person is Chinese. The same new year is Seollal in Korea and Tết in Vietnam, and a Korean or Vietnamese client may not thank you for a "Chinese New Year" card.
The audience is large. Pew Research Center counts nearly 25 million Asian Americans in 2023, about 7 per cent of the US population, with Chinese Americans the largest group at 5.5 million (Pew Research Center). In China itself, the holiday moves a nation. The Ministry of Transport counted a record 9.4 billion trips between regions during the 2026 Spring Festival travel season (CGTN).
How do you say Happy New Year in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese?
In Chinese, write 新年快乐 (Xīnnián kuàilè), "Happy New Year". In Korean, write 새해 복 많이 받으세요 (Saehae bok mani badeuseyo), "receive much good fortune in the new year". In Vietnamese, write Chúc mừng năm mới, "Happy New Year". One line in the reader's language at the top of the card is enough. Write the rest in the language you share.
| Language | Greeting | How to say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 新年快乐 | Xīnnián kuàilè | Happy New Year |
| Chinese | 恭喜发财 | Gōngxǐ fācái (Mandarin), Gung hei fat choy (Cantonese) | Wishing you prosperity |
| Chinese | 万事如意 | Wànshì rúyì | May all go as you wish |
| Chinese | 身体健康 | Shēntǐ jiànkāng | Good health |
| Korean | 새해 복 많이 받으세요 | Saehae bok mani badeuseyo | Receive much good fortune in the new year |
| Vietnamese | Chúc mừng năm mới | As written, in Latin letters with tone marks | Happy New Year |
| Vietnamese | An khang thịnh vượng | As written | Security, good health and prosperity |
The characters above are simplified, as used in mainland China and Singapore. Hong Kong and Taiwan use traditional characters, so 新年快乐 becomes 新年快樂 and 恭喜发财 becomes 恭喜發財. If unsure, write the greeting in English.
MailMyCard writes with a real pen in 112 languages and scripts, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Type the greeting in its own script and the pen writes it stroke by stroke.
What animal is Lunar New Year 2027?
2027 is the Year of the Goat, also called the Year of the Sheep or Ram. The year begins on Saturday 6 February 2027, according to Royal Museums Greenwich. The Chinese word, 羊 (yáng), covers both goats and sheep, which is why you will see both in English.
The date moves each year because the festival starts on the first day of the first lunar month. The celebrations run for fifteen days and end with the Lantern Festival.
Messages for clients
Dear Ms Chen, 新年快乐. Thank you for trusting us with the Singapore warehouse this year. Wishing you and your family good health in the Year of the Goat. David
Dear Mr Lim, 恭喜发财. Ten years since your first order, which I still have pinned above my desk. May the new year be your best yet. With thanks, Sarah
Dear Mr Nguyen, Chúc mừng năm mới. I hope Tết at home in Da Nang is full of family and good food. Thank you for a fine year of work together. Marcus
Dear Ms Park, 새해 복 많이 받으세요. Thank you for your patience during the port delays in August. We will do better this year. Wishing you good fortune. Helen
Dear Mrs Wong, 新年快樂，萬事如意. Thank you for sending your sister's restaurant to us. We looked after her as you would have. Warm wishes, James
Dear Mr Tan, Happy Lunar New Year. The factory visit in May taught our team more than a year of calls. May the year ahead bring health and smooth business. Priya
Dear Dr Liu, 新年快乐，身体健康. Thank you for another year as our patient and our friend. Enjoy the reunion dinner. Dr Morgan
Messages for teams
Dear Wei, 新年快乐. You carried the October release while training two new starters. I saw it. Enjoy every day at home with your parents. Anna
Dear Minh, Chúc mừng năm mới. Three years with us this month. The support queue has never been calmer. Wishing you and Lan a happy Tết. Robert
Dear Ji-woo, 새해 복 많이 받으세요. Thank you for the late nights on the Seoul launch. I hope Seollal is restful and the rice cake soup is as good as you say. Tom
Dear Mei Ling, Happy Lunar New Year. Your first year here and you already run the Monday meeting better than I do. Wishing you health and luck. Karen
Dear Jun, 万事如意. Safe travels to Chengdu. The team will manage for two weeks, though not as well. See you after the Lantern Festival. Olivia
Dear Thu, An khang thịnh vượng. Thank you for teaching the whole office to make spring rolls last year. We are hoping for a second lesson. Ben
Messages for family
Dear Ah Ma, 新年快乐，身体健康. I cannot be at the reunion dinner this year, so please save me a piece of nian gao. I will call at eight. Love, Xiao Yu
Dear Mum and Dad, 恭喜发财. My first new year away from Penang. I made your pineapple tarts. They were not the same, but the flat smelled like home. Jia Hui
Dear Halmeoni, 새해 복 많이 받으세요. I am sorry I cannot bow to you in person this Seollal. The children practised and will show you on the video call. Love, Soo-jin
Dear Bà Nội, Chúc mừng năm mới. I still remember the peach blossom in your front room in Hanoi. I bought a small branch for our kitchen here in Leeds. Your grandson, Khoa
Dear Uncle Peng, 新年快乐. Thank you for the red envelope you sent for baby Lucas. He tried to eat it. Wishing you good health this year. Michelle
Dear Gong Gong, 身体健康. You taught me to write my name with a brush when I was six. I still hold the pen the way you showed me. Love, Ethan
Dear Aunt Hoa, An khang thịnh vượng. The bánh chưng you posted last year arrived in one piece. We ate it in two days. Thinking of you this Tết. Linh
Which colours and numbers should a business avoid?
Avoid the number four, avoid white and black as the main colours, and do not write a person's name in red ink. Red and gold are the colours of the season. Eight is lucky. These are customs, not laws, but getting them right shows care.
- Four. In Chinese, the word for four sounds close to the word for death. China Highlights, a travel company, advises against gifts in sets of four and notes that eight is the lucky number (China Highlights). So do not write "four great years".
- White and black. The same guide says white is tied to funerals, and black to death. A red or gold card is the safe choice.
- Names in red ink. A red card is good. A name written in red ink is not. In Korea, writing a living person's name in red was long tied to death, as an article on Korea.net, the Korean government's portal, explains (Korea.net). The same custom is known in China. Dark ink on a red card is the safe pairing.
When should a Lunar New Year card be posted?
Post so the card arrives in the week before the new year. For 6 February 2027, order in the first days of January for addresses abroad, since international post takes one to three weeks. For addresses in India, order about two weeks ahead. Many offices close for the holiday, so a card sent to a workplace should land before the break.
| Moment | Order by | What can trigger it |
|---|---|---|
| Clients abroad | Early January | A Google Sheet we watch, or HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive |
| Team at home addresses | Early January | A Google Sheet or Zapier |
| Shop customers | Early January | Shopify or WooCommerce |
| Family abroad | Four weeks before | You, on the site |
| A late card | Up to the Lantern Festival | You, on the site |
MailMyCard posts from India and does not promise an exact day. The delivery time calculator turns the window into dates for any country. A single card is $14.99. Businesses sending 50 or more agree a price per card, from $8.99 for a pilot of 50 and falling with volume. See For business, or the developer docs for the API.
Does a handwritten card make a difference to clients?
It can, when the card says something true to one person. It does little as a mass mailing. The best evidence is for thank-you notes, not festival cards, so expect modestly.
In a 2022 study of 1,232 customers of an online beauty shop, a handwritten thank-you note roughly doubled later spending, from $25.97 to $52.07. A typed note did nothing, and the effect faded when a coupon was attached (Science Says, summarising Kim, Choi and Kim).
The other side of the evidence matters too. A 2025 field experiment sent thank-you postcards to 1,132 past donors. Handwritten ones drew a 19.3 per cent response and printed ones 18.7 per cent, which is no real difference (Adena, Huck and Neyse, Experimental Economics).
Americans buy about 6.5 billion greeting cards a year, according to the Greeting Card Association. For year-end cards to the rest of your list, see our business holiday card messages.
Questions people ask
Is it Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year?
Both are used. "Chinese New Year" or "Spring Festival" is right for Chinese clients. "Lunar New Year" covers everyone who keeps the holiday, including Korean and Vietnamese families. If your list is mixed, use "Lunar New Year".
Can I send a Lunar New Year card if I do not celebrate it?
Yes. A plain "Happy Lunar New Year, wishing you health and good fortune" is welcome from anyone. If you use a Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese greeting, copy it exactly.
Should I put money in the card?
Not for a client. Red envelopes with money are mostly a family custom. A client card needs only good wishes.
Is the card late if it arrives after 6 February?
No, within reason. The festival runs for fifteen days, to the Lantern Festival.
Sources
- Pew Research Center (2025), "Key facts about Asian Americans": pewresearch.org
- CGTN (2026), "China's 2026 Spring Festival travel rush sees record 9.4 billion trips", reporting the Ministry of Transport: news.cgtn.com
- Royal Museums Greenwich, "Lunar New Year dates and animals of the zodiac": rmg.co.uk
- China Highlights, "Chinese New Year gift giving etiquette": chinahighlights.com
- Korea.net, "11 Korean superstitions that persist to this day": korea.net
- Kim, S., Choi, J. and Kim, S. H. (2022), Journal of Interactive Marketing, summarised by Science Says
- Adena, M., Huck, S. and Neyse, L. (2025), "Gratitude in fundraising", Experimental Economics: cambridge.org
- Greeting Card Association, "Facts & Stats 2019": greetingcard.org
