✨ Capitalization Rules: Days, Months, Holidays, and Seasons
When we write about days of the week, months of the year, and holidays, we must always capitalize them. This shows respect for their importance and makes our writing clear.
But when we write about seasons (spring, summer, autumn/fall, winter), we usually keep them lowercase — unless they are part of a title or a special name.
🟢 Rule 1: Always Capitalize Days of the Week
Every day of the week is a proper noun, so the first letter must be capitalized.
Examples:
- ✅ Monday is my favorite day.
- ✅ We play football on Friday.
- ✅ School starts again on Tuesday.
❌ Wrong: monday is my favorite day.
🟡 Rule 2: Always Capitalize Months of the Year
Months are also proper nouns. Always capitalize them.
Examples:
- ✅ December is the last month of the year.
- ✅ We celebrate birthdays in July.
- ✅ School begins in September.
❌ Wrong: december is the last month of the year.
🎉 Rule 3: Always Capitalize Holidays
Holidays are special names, so they must be capitalized.
Examples:
- ✅ Christmas is a joyful holiday.
- ✅ We celebrate Diwali with lights.
- ✅ Thanksgiving is in November.
- ✅ Eid is celebrated by many people.
❌ Wrong: christmas is a joyful holiday.
🍂 Rule 4: Seasons Are Lowercase (Unless in a Title)
Seasons (spring, summer, autumn/fall, winter) are not capitalized unless they are part of a title or a special name.
Examples:
- ✅ I love summer.
- ✅ We go skiing in winter.
- ✅ The flowers bloom in spring.
- ✅ Leaves fall in autumn.
❌ Wrong: I love Summer. (unless it’s a title)
When to Capitalize Seasons:
- ✅ The Winter Olympics will be held in February.
- ✅ Summer Festival is fun.
- ✅ Spring Concert is next week.
👉 Here, “Winter Olympics,” “Summer Festival,” and “Spring Concert” are titles, so the season is capitalized.
🔄 American vs. British English Differences
The capitalization rules are the same in both American and British English.
The only difference is in the word choice for seasons and holidays:
| Feature | American English | British English |
| Autumn/Fall | Fall is common | Autumn is common |
| Holidays | Thanksgiving (November) | Boxing Day (December 26) |
| Capitalization | Same rules: capitalize days, months, holidays; lowercase seasons unless in titles | Same rules |
Examples:
- American English:
- ✅ We go back to school in fall.
- British English:
- ✅ We go back to school in autumn.
👉 Both “fall” and “autumn” are lowercase unless part of a title.
🧩 Practice Sentences
Fix the capitalization mistakes:
- wrong: we will meet on wednesday.
fix: We will meet on Wednesday. - wrong: my birthday is in march.
fix: My birthday is in March. - wrong: we celebrate christmas in december.
fix: We celebrate Christmas in December. - wrong: i love Summer vacation.
fix: I love summer vacation. (but capitalize if it’s “Summer Vacation Program”)
🎯 Summary
- Days, months, holidays → always capitalize.
- Seasons → lowercase, unless part of a title.
- American and British English follow the same capitalization rules, but may use different words (fall vs. autumn).