I received one of these amazing stamps recently (the bottom middle, specifically):
They are huge and so cool! 
I often draw addresses from Hong Kong and Taiwan that include “R.O.C.” after the country. I always default to whatever address format the Postcrosser has provided, but in this case, should I not do this?
If you are writing to Switzerland, just remember that we are neither Sweden nor Swaziland. And if you address a woman, don’t use Fräulein or Frau - use “Ihre Majestät” instead.
Something I’ve noticed that Americans do more than most other countries is insert religion into everyday speech/writing. For example it is not uncommon for Americans to say or write “thank God”, “thank heaven”, “God bless you and have a nice day” and other similar phrases. Now, I don’t mind this, but I know that some folks find it uncomfortable or (in extreme cases) outright rude or blasphemous.
For Switzerland overall I can’t think of any other written, stylistic or symbolic missteps you could make. Technically using “Grüezi” as a greeting implies that you and the recipient are on formal terms, but in reality I am usually so pleased that someone from another country even knows that much about our tiny little culture that it warms the cheese wheel that I have as a heart.
(Don’t actually address anyone as “Ihre Majestät”, it means Your Majesty. On Postcrossing, use their first name or username)
Really? I have always thought it was more on the informal side of things and have been wondering if it wouldn’t be badly received if I used that greeting on the postcard.
I don’t think “thank God” is something religious, at least in my country. It’s just a phrase. We just say it when we feel happy. Even my atheist friend says “thank God” alot.
I don’t disagree with the first part, necessarily, but I think that there are major differences between the first two and the last one. I’m a totally non-religious American who says things like “thank god it stopped raining”. It’s not about religion, it’s just that “thank god” sounds better than “thank goodness” because that one sounds like you are religious and trying not to take the lord’s name in vain or something.
I would never ever say God bless you, though. That’s religious. (Unless you sneezed, which I wouldn’t know while writing a postcard to you. And even then I’d only say “bless you”.)
The earthquake damaged Anglican Christchuch Cathedral, Christchuch was build around 150 years ago. Swastikas in the tiled walls. I assumed is was a Christian symbol.
It’s a greeting that a Swiss would really only use if they are “per Sie” (on a last name basis) with the other person, whereas if they are “per du” (on a first name basis) then greetings such as Hoi, Hallo, Sali, Ciao or Salut are more common.
So formal in this sense is more about the relationship between the speaker and recipient and less about the situational context.
But as I said in my original post, it makes me really happy to see any Swiss phrase used, and I can’t imagine anyone getting upset that a sender used the “wrong” one 
I know and I agree, I use it too. I just meant to say that some people are a bit squeamish about it. I guess they feel like it shouldn’t be said so casually? I know a family that won’t let their kids watch Mamma Mia because the characters say “Oh my God”.
Yep, I agree. It’s just a regular interjection. “Thank god” carries the same weight as “I’m really glad”. But to some people it sounds like you’re super into Christianity, like if someone said to you “Praise Allah, we caught the bus!”, you might assume the speaker was devoutly Muslim.
I wasn’t trying to comment on whether or not “thank god” should or shouldn’t be used, I just wanted to let Americans (who, in general, casually use words of religious origin more often than other cultures) know that “Thank god, it stopped raining” and “Thankfully, it stopped raining” will probably mean the same thing to them, but not necessarily to everyone else. Hope I explained myself better this time 
I am not religious and I use “thank goodness” to indicate that 1) I’m not religious 2) I respect other people’s right to religion so I don’t try to offend them and 3) I’m often in a situation where I don’t know other people’s religion(s) so if they’re Christian or Muslim or Hindu or Pagan or any number of other things, I don’t want to appear like I’m invoking the wrong deity. If most people are actually assuming that I’m Christian because I say “thank goodness”, then maybe I should try to find an alternative phrase to use.
I have a feeling that most Postcrossers are pretty open minded and realize that cultural norms vary throughout the world, so they’re less likely to take offense than people with a more limited outlook.
Now I’m trying to remember if I wrote “happy new year” in red on postcards I sent to China and Japan… 
I never actually thought about it, but I completely agree.
@Angelicca, I don’t think that’s an issue (correct me, anyone, if I’m wrong)! Just avoid writing names in red. 
Oh, that’s a relief then 
(I might have written my name in red, but I guess that’s not so bad) - I’m afraid I’m a bit colorful these days
I’m sorry if my Hurray!-Mail confused you! 
It didn’t - at all I actually thought it was quite nice - I’m always happy to practice my German. (To be honest, though, I was (and am) ashamed of someone, I felt like apolozing for him I must say, I personally don’t have anything to do with him being where he is).
But to go back to the topic, I have a question: do most German speaking people prefer “Duzen” on postcards or should I also consider “Siezen”? I’m never sure… Actually, this goes to French speakers too: I always go with “Vous” - is it right or am I overthinking it?
Duzen is the common way on postcards. The Du goes along with the forename and the Sie is used when you call the person by the family name.
I am also on the „du“ side in the internet and feel a bit weird when writing in Russian to Russian postcrossers because I noticed that a lot of them - even younger generation - will use the formal „вы“ (which is Sie in German or Vous in French) rather than „ты“ (which is du or tu) when they write to people they do not know personally.
I see… usually I go with “du” in German due to the first name relation and in French I use “vous” for some reason. There was a RAS card I actually wrote “Mr. Lastname” in English because the receiver was a very old gentleman.
Even when writing to Portuguese postcrossers I’m not sure, in Brazil we rarely use “tu”, only “você” and “senhor(a)”.
What do you all think about phrase “Let’s pray”?
In here we say it all the time when we want something to happen.
“Let’s pray tomorrow will be a sunny day.”
“Let’s pray we will pass the test.”
“Can we finish before deadline? Let’s pray”
I wrote “Let’s pray 2021 will be a better year” in my new year cards to people in many countries 
Well, there is a little bit of food sensitivity between Singapore and Malaysia.
I wouldn’t say this is something very serious, and I don’t think majority of the Singaporeans or Malaysians care so much about which food is being claimed as their local food, but a particular few might.
Anyway, I don’t even know the actual origins either. I just know we love food
