On Punctuation and Paragraph Indentation: A Deep Dive into Greeting Card Etiquette

In formal greeting cards, punctuation and paragraph indentation are generally not used.
I would like to explain the reasons for this, how to write them, and address the question of why some greeting cards do contain punctuation and paragraphs.

Reasons for Not Using Punctuation and Paragraph Indentation

Although there are various theories as to why they are not used, it is generally attributed to the following two reasons.

(1) They were not used originally

There is a view that this is a remnant of the 're-ten' (reading marks) used in classical Chinese, where people who needed such symbols to read were considered uneducated or lacking, and thus using them was seen as disrespectful to the recipient.
Furthermore, punctuation was not used until the Meiji era; it was initially introduced in schools to help children read, and using it in correspondence addressed to adults was considered treating them like children and therefore disrespectful.
Since they were not used originally, not using them is the traditional form.

(2) Not breaking the flow of events (or good fortune/connections)

By not using punctuation to break up sentences, there is also a superstitious meaning of not breaking the future flow or connections.
Like taboo words or repetitive words, this is a practice rooted in the wish to avoid bad luck, so I believe it is better to follow it.

These are the two commonly cited reasons. It might be more of a 'custom we want to preserve' than a 'rule'.

How to write without using punctuation and paragraph indentation

Instead of punctuation

Use 'spaces' and 'line breaks' instead of punctuation.
In formal greeting cards, use a 'space' where you would place a comma, and a 'line break' where you would place a period.
However, to maintain a readable layout, some spaces are omitted, so it is slightly different from actual commas and spaces.

Paragraph indentation

Paragraphs are used to make content easier to read by grouping it, but like punctuation, they are not used in greeting cards.
Although there are no paragraphs in greeting cards, you can achieve a similar clarity by being conscious of the 'preamble,' 'main text,' and 'closing' sections.
Also, there is no need to list requirements in the main text; if you write 'as follows' and list them separately, the greeting becomes simpler and easier to read.

By dividing the text into 'where to write the opening greeting,' 'where to write the summary of the request,' 'where to convey feelings,' and 'where to write the details of the request,'
I think you can organize the content so that you don't have to repeat thanks multiple times in each section or have requests and feelings alternating repeatedly.

The form of greeting cards as business documents

So, does that mean punctuation is never used in greeting cards? That is not the case.
There are formats, such as the so-called business documents seen in A4 tri-fold greeting cards, that use both paragraphs and punctuation.
I think this is what makes the presence or absence of punctuation and paragraphs confusing.
Business documents are often written horizontally in Word or similar programs as notification documents from a company (such as various announcements), and in most cases, punctuation is used. (Paragraphs may or may not be present.)
Since they are written horizontally, they do not fit the format of formal greeting cards, but in reality, they are also used for greetings such as appointments.

Assuming the use of card-style greeting cards with envelopes

The discussion about whether or not to use punctuation is often explained under the assumption of using card-style greeting cards with envelopes, and I believe A4 greeting cards are not taken into account.
Even with A4 greeting cards, depending on the content, one might want to write according to formal customs, but in reality, it is a case-by-case situation.

For A4 greeting letters, it is common to use two different layouts, and I think it is easy to distinguish whether it is a "greeting letter" or a "business document" based on this. *The signature and date formats also differ.

Supplementary Note

Regarding punctuation in greeting letters, while there is a school of thought that including it is impolite, there are few cases where omitting it causes problems, so it is generally safer to omit it.
Especially in vertical writing, it is formal to "omit it," following traditional letter-writing customs.

◯Related Links (How to write greeting letters)

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