Professional occasions
20 days that honour a profession or mark a step in a career, from Teachers' Day and Doctors' Day to a new job, a promotion and retirement, with what to write for each.
Half of these days honour a whole profession, and half mark one person's career moving.
The profession days are largely tied to a person. Teachers' Day on 5 September is Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birth anniversary, National Doctors' Day on 1 July is Dr B. C. Roy's, and Engineers' Day on 15 September is Sir M. Visvesvaraya's. Chartered Accountants' Day marks the founding of the ICAI, and National Farmers' Day is Chaudhary Charan Singh's birth anniversary.
Others are international: Nurses Day on Florence Nightingale's birthday, World Teachers' Day in October, World Post Day.
Honouring a profession without flattering it
The template message thanks people for their "selfless service". It is well meant and it is the one thing many doctors, nurses and teachers say they are tired of, because the language of sacrifice tends to replace practical support.
The better version is specific and personal. Name the teacher and the thing they said. Name the doctor and the night they stayed. If you are writing as an organisation, say what you are doing for these people rather than how much you admire them.
The career moments
New job, promotion, retirement and farewell are personal rather than calendar days, and they turn up at short notice.
The rule for all four: congratulate the work, not just the title. Someone reading "congratulations on the promotion" already knows they were promoted. What they do not know is who noticed the two years behind it.
Congratulations messages and best wishes messages cover what to write, including the group farewell card that everyone signs with "All the best 😊".