red-letter day

British  

noun

1. a memorably important or happy occasion

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red-letter day Cultural  

1. A special or memorable day; the expression refers to the old custom of printing holidays in red on calendars: “John got promoted and engaged to be married yesterday; it was truly a red-letter day for him.”

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red-letter day Idioms  

1. A special occasion, as in When Jack comes home from his tour of duty, that'll be a red-letter day. This term alludes to the practice of marking feast days and other holy days in red on church calendars, dating from the 1400s. [c. 1700]

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Etymology

Origin of red-letter day

C18: from the red letters used in ecclesiastical calendars to indicate saints' days and feasts

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

red-letter day

This makes July 10, 2026, the red-letter day because taxpayers usually have three years after filing a return to make a claim disputing a penalty, according to Collins.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

SpaceX’s big news, along with Anthropic’s showing potential to turn a profit far sooner than expected and OpenAI’s prepping for its public debut, made yesterday AI’s red-letter day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

This was a red-letter day in the history of Liverpool's famous old stadium as the new top deck of the Anfield Road Stand was in use for the first time.

From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2023

Could Feb. 15 be a red-letter day for Nikki Haley?

From Washington Times ● Feb. 7, 2023

It was a red-letter day, after all, so I put aside the black ink and held up the bottle of red.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly