The Emoji Calendar: What to Send for Every Occasion, Month by Month
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Bookmark this one. It is built to be opened in February for Valentine's, in October for Halloween, in November for Diwali, and on any ordinary Tuesday when somebody gets a new job and you have no idea what to send.
Every set below copies in one click. The dates are checked, including the ones that move each year, which is the part most emoji lists skip entirely.
How to use this page
Jump to the month you need. Each entry gives one set that works for a message, one for a bio or caption, and the date. If you want a deeper set for a specific festival there is a link to the full page for it.
Two rules that apply everywhere. Keep it to three emoji in a message, because a long string reads as a card rather than a note. And match the register: a colleague gets ๐, a close friend gets whatever you like.
Why most festival emoji sets fail
Three mistakes account for nearly all of them.
Using the decoration instead of the object. โจ and ๐ go with everything, which is exactly the problem: a set of three generic celebration emoji says a celebration is happening but not which one. Every set below leads with the object that names the festival, then decorates.
Using the western equivalent. A taper candle is not a diya, a bunny is not a hare in the folklore sense, and a generic party popper is not a red envelope. Where a festival has its own emoji, use it; the substitution is noticeable to anyone who actually celebrates it.
Sending the bio set as a message. A four or five emoji string looks right in a profile and reads as a greetings card in a chat. For a message to a person, three is the ceiling and two is usually better.
The dates that move, 2026 to 2028
This is the section worth bookmarking. Six of the biggest festivals are not on a fixed date, which is why people search for them every single year.
- Lunar New Year: 17 Feb 2026 ยท 6 Feb 2027 ยท 26 Jan 2028
- Ramadan begins: 18 Feb 2026 ยท 8 Feb 2027 ยท 28 Jan 2028
- Holi: 4 Mar 2026 ยท 22 Mar 2027 ยท 11 Mar 2028
- Eid al-Fitr: 20 Mar 2026 ยท 10 Mar 2027 ยท 27 Feb 2028
- Diwali: 8 Nov 2026 ยท 29 Oct 2027 ยท 15 Nov 2028
- Hanukkah begins: 5 Dec 2026 ยท 25 Dec 2027 ยท 13 Dec 2028
Two honest caveats. Islamic dates depend on the sighting of the moon and land a day earlier or later depending on the country, so treat Ramadan and Eid as approximate until locally confirmed. Hindu festival dates vary by regional calendar, and Diwali itself runs across five days, so the date above is the main night. Easter moves too, landing in early April in 2026, and the Orthodox date is usually later than the Western one.
Our upcoming festivals page runs a live countdown to whichever of these is next, if you would rather not do the arithmetic.
Which festivals actually have their own emoji
Worth knowing before you go hunting for something that does not exist. These festivals have a dedicated glyph: Christmas ๐, Halloween ๐, Diwali ๐ช, Hanukkah ๐, Lunar New Year ๐งง, Easter ๐ฃ, St Patrick's โ๏ธ, Thanksgiving ๐ฆ.
These do not, and have to be built from parts: Holi, Eid, Ramadan, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Pride (the flag is a flag, not a festival emoji), and most national days other than the US fourth of July. For those, the set below is an assembly rather than a lookup, which is why they take more thought.
January and February: fresh starts, lanterns and love
New Year's Day, 1 January. The one day of the year when a clichรฉ is the correct choice.
๐ฑ is the underused one here. A seedling reads as a fresh start without the party, which suits a message to someone who is having a hard January. The full set is on the New Year topic page.
February
Valentine's Day, 14 February.
Lunar New Year, 17 February 2026. Red and gold, and the animal of the year.
๐ belongs in this set for a reason that is easy to miss. Mandarins are a traditional gift because the word for them sounds like the word for luck, so the fruit is not decoration, it is the message.
Ramadan begins, around 18 February 2026. Restraint is the point, so keep these quiet.
More on the Ramadan page, and our Valentine's guide goes much deeper on the love side.
March and April: colour, luck and eggs
Holi, 4 March 2026. The only festival where the emoji genuinely struggle, because there is no powder-paint emoji.
St Patrick's Day, 17 March.
๐ and โ๏ธ are not the same. The four-leaf clover is luck; the shamrock is the three-leaf one actually associated with Ireland. Most people use the first and nobody minds, but the second is the accurate one.
Eid al-Fitr, around 20 March 2026. Celebration after the fast, so this one can be warm and loud.
Easter, early April 2026.
Easter is the one western holiday where the emoji set has quietly improved: ๐ฃ and ๐ท carry it better than ๐ฐ does, because a rabbit alone reads as an animal rather than an occasion. Full sets live on the Easter page.
May and June: parents, pride and sunshine
Mother's Day is the trap on this calendar. The UK marks it in March as Mothering Sunday, while the US, India, Australia and much of Europe use the second Sunday of May. If you have family in two countries you will get this wrong once and never again.
Cinco de Mayo, 5 May. ๐๐ฎ๐ ยท Father's Day, third Sunday of June in the US and UK, though not everywhere.
Pride Month, all of June.
The rainbow and transgender flags are both joiner sequences, so a very old phone shows them as a plain white flag followed by a rainbow or a set of coloured blocks. Check it before committing one to a display name: the broken form reads as carelessness rather than as an unsupported glyph. More at the pride combos page.
July to September: heat, then school
Independence Day (US), 4 July: ๐๐บ๐ธ๐ญ ยท World Emoji Day, 17 July: ๐๐ โจ, which exists because that is the date shown on the calendar emoji.
The rest of these two months is just summer, and summer sets do more work than any single holiday:
The summer topic page has the full range, and our ocean and beach collection goes considerably further.
September: back to school
๐ next to a book is the one combination that reads as teacher without spelling it out, which makes it the right set for a thank-you note at the end of term. See the back to school page.
October: Halloween
Orange and black is the whole palette, and ๐งก is doing more work than the pumpkin in most of these. Our Halloween guide has the full set including the costume and party sections.
November: lamps and gratitude
Diwali, 8 November 2026. The festival of lights, and the one where emoji actually do well.
๐ช the diya arrived in Emoji 12.0 in 2019 and it changed Diwali messages completely. Before it existed people used ๐ฏ๏ธ, a western taper candle, which is the wrong object entirely. If you are sending one message this November, send the lamp. More on the Diwali page.
Thanksgiving (US), fourth Thursday of November. Canada marks it in October instead.
The Thanksgiving page and our autumn combos cover the surrounding weeks.
December: lights again
Hanukkah, from 5 December 2026.
Christmas, 25 December.
New Year's Eve, 31 December: ๐ฅ๐โจ.
December is the one month where restraint helps most, because everyone's feed is already full of red and green. A set built on ๐ค and โ๏ธ instead of ๐ and ๐ stands out precisely because it is quieter. Full sets on the Christmas page and in our Christmas guide.
The occasions that happen all year
This is the part you will actually use most. Festivals come round once; someone has a birthday every week.
- Birthday: ๐๐๐ฅณ
- Congratulations: ๐๐โจ
- New job: ๐ผ๐๐
- New baby: ๐ผ๐ค๐งธ
- Wedding: ๐๐ค๐ฅ
- Anniversary: ๐ฅโค๏ธโจ
- Exam or interview: ๐๐ชโจ
- Thank you: ๐๐คโจ
- Sorry: ๐ฅบ๐ค๐ท
- Get well: ๐ค๐ต๐ท
- Moving house: ๐ฆ๐กโจ
- Missing someone: ๐ซ๐ค
A note on the top three, because they are the ones people get wrong. For a birthday, ๐ is doing the work and ๐ is optional; two emoji is warmer than four. For congratulations, ๐ reads as slightly formal and ๐ as genuinely pleased, a distinction that shows up clearly when you are replying to someone's promotion. And for thank you, ๐ is ambiguous enough that ๐ค often lands better.
Each occasion has its own page, and the birthday emoji page is the busiest of them. Our birthday message guide goes deeper on the one you will send most often.
What to send when the news is bad
Nobody writes this section and everybody needs it eventually.
For a death, a serious diagnosis or a job loss, send ๐ค or ๐ซ and nothing else. A single white heart reads as sincere. A string of emoji reads as decorated, which is the last thing a hard message should look like.
Avoid ๐, which is read as praying by some people and as thanks by others, and avoid anything with a sparkle on it. If you are unsure whether to send an emoji at all, send words and put the ๐ค on its own line underneath. We went through the full range in emoji for every feeling.
Which of these break on older phones
Most are safe. Four to know about:
- ๐ช the diya and ๐งง the red envelope are from 2019 and 2018 respectively, so a phone that has not been updated in years may show a box.
- ๐ณ๏ธโ๐ and ๐ณ๏ธโโง๏ธ are joiner sequences and split into their component parts on old software.
- ๐ซ people hugging is from 2020, recent enough to be worth checking if you are messaging someone on an old device.
- ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ and every heart are all a decade old or more and will render anywhere.
If something arrives as an empty rectangle it is the receiving phone, not the site you copied from. Our guide to the empty box problem explains why.
For sets that are not tied to a date at all, the cozy collection runs all year, and each individual festival above links through to its own full collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Diwali in 2026?+
The main night is 8 November 2026, then 29 October 2027 and 15 November 2028. Diwali runs across five days and the exact dates vary by regional calendar, so treat these as the principal night rather than the whole festival.
What emoji should I use for Diwali?+
๐ช the diya lamp, ideally as ๐ชโจ๐งก. The diya arrived in Emoji 12.0 in 2019; before that people used ๐ฏ๏ธ, a western taper candle, which is the wrong object. If you send one emoji this Diwali, send the lamp.
Why do Ramadan and Eid dates change every year?+
They follow the lunar Islamic calendar, which is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian one, so they move earlier each year. Dates also depend on the local sighting of the moon, so observance can begin a day apart in different countries.
Is Mother's Day the same date everywhere?+
No, and it is the most common mix-up on this calendar. The UK marks Mothering Sunday in March, while the US, India, Australia and much of Europe use the second Sunday of May.
What emoji should I send for bad news?+
๐ค or ๐ซ, on their own. A single white heart reads as sincere where a string of emoji reads as decorated. Avoid ๐, which some read as praying and others as thanks, and avoid anything with a sparkle.
What is the difference between ๐ and โ๏ธ?+
๐ is a four-leaf clover, which means luck. โ๏ธ is the three-leaf shamrock, which is the one actually associated with Ireland and St Patrick's Day. Most people use the four-leaf one and nobody objects.
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About BestEmojis Team
The Best Emojis team is dedicated to helping you find the perfect emojis for every occasion. We provide comprehensive guides, tips, and a vast collection of free emojis for all your communication needs.
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