February 2021 Cultural Diversity Update
By Stephen on January 31st 2021 Whether or not February is a busy month for holidays and festivals rather depends on the phases of the Moon. For instance, this year, the second new moon after December 21st takes place on February 12th, which means that February hosts the prestigious Lunar New Year holidays that will dominate the middle of February this year. The moon phases also mean that February 2020 will host the many colorful carnivals across Latin America and the Caribbean that usher in the period of Lent. Read More
January 2021 Cultural Diversity Update
By Stephen on December 31st 2020 Each month, we look at the main events taking place related to cultural diversity. We feature the biggest event and highlight four other notable events. We show you which countries celebrate their national days in january and also feature some interesting observances during the month. Our aim is to give you guidance and ideas for how your company can celebrate cultural diversity reflecting the unique contribution that every employee can bring. Read More
New Year's Day around the world
By Stephen on December 26th 2019 On Friday January 1st 2021, around 90% of the world's population will observe a public holiday to mark International New Year's Day. What about the other 10%? Read More
Christmas Day around the world
By Stephen on December 18th 2020 From a western persepective, it may seem like Christmas Day on 25th December is a global event. However, not all countries celebrate Christmas on 25th December, and it is not a public holiday in many countries. Read More
Monks, Queens, Lambs and Baubles - the branches of the Christmas Tree
By Melissa on December 1st 2020 What better way to celebrate the birth of someone who is the basis for one of the world's greatest religions than by chopping down a tree, sticking shiny things on it and putting it in your living room for a few weeks in December? This rather strange arboreal custom emerged in the 16th century in Germany. The origins go back further yet, to ancient tree worship and pagan rituals tied to the winter solstice on December 21st. Read More
Christmas Quiz
By Stephen on November 30th 2020 On 25th December each year, over 2 billion people will celebrate the birth of Christ. In about 305 AD, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25th as the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ. Since then, many customs and traditions have grown up around Christmas. Why not test your knowledge on these traditions with our short quiz? After taking the quiz, we will show the answers with some background on each question. Start the quiz
December 2020 Cultural Diversity Update
By Paul on November 29th 2020 In our December diversity review we focus on Christmas looking at the origin of some of the traditions of the holiday season such as Christmas Trees and Advent Calendars. We also look at how there are several Christmas Days and which countries don't celebrate Christmas. Read More
How Advent Calendars Redefined Advent
By Stephen on November 28th 2020 On Tuesday December 1st 2020 your fingernail can begin prising open the doors on your Advent Calendar. Because it's the start of Advent, right? Actually, in 2020, the Advent period began on Sunday November 29th and will last for 26 days. Read on to see how a practical commercial decision led to the redefining of Advent. Read More
November 2019 Cultural Diversity Update
By Stephen on October 31st 2019 November is a month of harvest festivals, some of the oldest holidays, that date back to when ancient farming communities gathered to give thanks for a good harvest, essential in surviving the imminent harsh winter. This year November also hosts the famous Hindu festival of Diwali and the birthday of the founder of one of the world’s great religions; Sikhism. Read More
Zoom into November!
By Toby on October 30th 2020 Want to avoid the stigma of having your bookcase judged by your colleagues, but also want to celebrate cultural diversity? Well, you are in luck - during October there are several national days and we have made some free virtual backgrounds for these days. Just check the date of the holiday and follow the simple instructions to add the images to Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Read More
Columbus Day Quiz
By Stephen on September 30th 2020 This U.S. federal holiday commemorates the date when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas. It is observed on the Second Monday in October. Columbus' voyages across the Atlantic Ocean initiated the European exploration and colonization of the Americas. How much do know about Columbus? Test your knowledge with our short quiz. Start the quiz
October 2020 Cultural Diversity Update
By Paul on September 30th 2020 October is a month full of holidays, though it arguably doesn’t have any blockbuster holidays. Chinese National Day is probably the most notable event as one-fifth of the world’s population will have a week off this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic. The main U.S. holiday in October is Columbus Day. While it may be a federal holiday, it has taken a battering in recent years as many people reflect on Columbus as a person and the effect of European colonization on the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Read More
Mexican Independence Day Quiz
By Stephen on September 12th 2020 Wednesday September 16th 2020 is Mexican Independence Day. Also known as 'Día de la Independencia' or 'Grito de Dolores', Mexican Independence Day marks the anniversary of the Mexican War of Independence on September 16th 1810. In our short quiz, test your knowledge about the 13th largest country in the world. Start the quiz
September 2020 Cultural Diversity Update
By Stephen on August 28th 2020 An interesting event takes place each year on September 15th. This day marks the independence of the entire Central America from Spanish rule in 1821, this led to five separate holidays in the countries that formed part of Central America. This event also marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is observed in the USA.Other key holidays in September are Labor Day, Hungary Ghosts Festival and Autumnal Equinox Day. Read More
Labor Day Quiz
By Stephen on August 26th 2020 Monday September 7th 2020 is Labor Day, a Federal Holiday in the U.S. For the last 125 years, America has observed this slightly peculiar holiday in which we celebrate the efforts of workers… by taking the day off. Though as it is an important day for retail, about a quarter of all American workers will actually work harder than normal today! To find out how much you know about Labor Day, try our short quiz. Start the quiz
August 2020 Cultural Diversity Update
By Stephen on July 31st 2020 The revolutionary spirit in July continues into August with a large amount of independence days taking place around the world as many countries threw off their colonial shackles during this month. The biggest religious festival in August this year is the widely observed, but not well known Christian festival of Assumption. Read More
July 2020 Cultural Diversity Update
By Stephen on June 30th 2020 This year, July is a relatively quiet month for international holidays until the very last day, when the major Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha takes place. That’s not to say there aren’t any other interesting holidays or festivals taking place. In fact, July can be considered the most revolutionary of months with 25 independence holidays taking place around the world, more than any other month. Read More
Coronavirus Travel Information By Country
By Paul on June 15th 2020 At the moment, planning any international travel can feel like doing a jigsaw without a picture, and what's worse is that the unseen picture is changing almost every day. To help guide you through, we have created interactive COVID-19 travel maps for every country. There are other sites that do this, but we focus on giving a view per country and also link every government website we can find to help clarify any issues. Read More
What Is Juneteenth?
By Stephen on June 12th 2020 In recent days, many American companies, such as Twitter, the NFL and Nike, have given their employees a new company holiday – Juneteenth. In a country where organizations don’t tend to give away time off, this is an unprecedented move. Juneteenth is not a holiday that many people outside of the United States will be aware of. Given the increase in media interest, it’s worth taking a look at the history of the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Read how, and maybe why, it took the news of the emancipation over a year to make it to certain parts of America. Read More
June 2020 Cultural Diversity Update
By Paul on May 27th 2020 In the Northern Hemisphere, June is a summer month when individual vacations start to take precedence over wondering when the next public holiday. This year that is especially so as many countries will begin to emerge from their COVID-19 travel lockdowns this month. However there are still some important and diverse festivals and holidays taking place. June begins with the major Christian holiday of Whit Monday, which marks the coming of the Holy Spirit in the form of flames to the Apostles. Read More
May 2020 Cultural Diversity Update
By Stephen on April 28th 2020 May gets off a strong start with one of the biggest secular holidays of the year taking place on May 1st – International Workers’ Day. This holiday can trace it roots back to European pagan fire festivals celebrating the return of the sun at the end of winter. Nowadays however, any red on May day is likely to be in relation to the socialist movement rather than flames. On May 8th and 9th, different countries across Europe will mark the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory against Nazi Germany. The month ends with two important religious festivals; Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan and Ascension Day, a Christian holiday whose date depends on Easter – so even though all Easter eggs may have been eaten, Easter continues to have an influence on our calendars. Read More
Working during Ramadan
By Melissa on April 20th 2020 For most Islamic countries, Friday April 24th will be the first day of the Muslim month of Ramadan. The start of Ramadan moves forward in the western calendar by about 12 days every year. Currently, in the northern hemisphere, Ramadan takes place in late spring and covers the period when there is more daylight than night. This means that the daily fasting period is longer than 12 hours, so please be considerate when working with employees or dealing with clients and customers who are observing Ramadan. The added twist this year is that many will be observing Ramadan during a period of social restrictions in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More
Got Your Corona-Visa?
By Stephen on April 19th 2020Almost every country has locked down international travel and closed their borders to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. When international travel restarts, it will happen at different paces across the world. To help navigate the confusion, we have added Coronvirus Travel Gudies for all countries.
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April 2019 Cultural Diversity Update
By Paul on March 30th 2020Usually we start the review by highlighting the fun festivals that will distract people from their work and attract many of them to travel to experience the great gatherings of people. For most of the world, April will take place under the shadow of the Coronavirus outbreak. Most festivals are cancelled or reduced in scale. Yet, the big festivals in April carry important messages about sacrifice and rebirth. In these testing times, diversity shouldn't be forgotten - it remains a source of strength and inspiration for many. If you are working with a remote team, it can be a difficult time for some and taking time to acknowledge someone's national holiday or get the team to think about an observance can help to make everyone feel connected.
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Celebrating in a time of Coronavirus
By Stephen on April 8th 2020 The disruption caused by Coronavirus touches all aspects of our daily lives, including the ability to celebrate our key religious festivals. The month of April is chock-full of such holidays such as Passover, Easter, Vaisakhi and Ramadan. While the faithful usually congregate to celebrate and commemorate these holidays, the lockdown of most of the world and the closing of public spaces has led religious communities to get creative with traditions. Read More
Bakaliaros: A recipe for Greek Independence Day
By Stephen on March 25th 2020 It’s the National Day of Greece today, marking the uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1821. This year, official celebrations are canceled due to Coronavirus. Despite any restrictions, uou can still celebrate this National Day with this tasty fish dish that has become synonymous with Greece Independence. March 25th always falls during Lent when eating meat and fish is not allowed. There are only two days during Lent when fish is allowed, and the Feast of the Annunciation is one of those days (Palm Sunday is the other), which is why eating fish on March 25th is so popular, and fish dishes don’t come any more traditional and tasty than Bakaliaros (batter-fried cod). Read More
Why We Need To Keep Celebrating Our Holidays
By Stephen on March 18th 2020 There is no avoiding the fact that many of the major festivals of the world involve large numbers of people coming together to celebrate. The current Coronavirus Pandemic and the global need for self-isolation and social distancing is casting a long and ominous shadow over our holidays. So should we cancel all holidays? Absolutely not, the annual list of public holidays in most countries is a record of that nations struggle against adversity, whether that is the ending of wars, avoiding famine or gaining freedom from slavery. Coronavirus is just the latest threat. This bully of a virus that preys on the old and sick will be defeated if we act together for benefit of each other and protect the less vulnerable in our societies. Our holidays and festivals are important reminders of times when we did just that and how our shared culture and identity binds us as nations or religions. That unity got us through hardships before, so that’s certainly something worth remembering and celebrating (safely) at the moment. Read More
Quiz: The Festivals of Lights
By Melissa on March 9th 2020 On March 17th, many of the world's most famous buildings and monuments will turn green for the day. This is done to mark St. Patrick's Day. Patrick is probably the most famous patron saint of a country and the date of his feast day is a global day to celebrate all things Irish. And while the Irish Tourist Board have done a great job with their 'Global Greening' initiative, St. Patrick's Day isn't the only holiday highlighted on the world's iconic buildings and monuments. In this short quiz, we look at how holidays are marked in landmarks across the world. Read More
Should International Women’s Day be a holiday in the UK?
By Paul on March 8th 2020 If you are in the UK, you might not be aware that International Women’s Day (IWD) lives up to its name with it being a public holiday in some 27 countries. The only jurisdiction in the European Union to observe IWD with a public holiday is Berlin. Read More
Happy Holidays to Hue!
By Melissa on March 5th 2020 A popular home lighting solution is Philips Hue. They make a series of lights that are energy efficient and controllable via an app from home and beyond. You can set routines to switch the lights on and off and if they are the coloured lights, change the colours. Integrating this with the popular IFTTT service... Read More
March 2020 Cultural Diversity Update
By Stephen on February 26th 2020 March 2020 is a month of rebirth and renewal as spring starts to push back winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Over 300 million people will mark this change in the seasons with Persian New Year on March 21st; and Balinese New Year, and the Hindu festivals of Maha Shivaratri and Holi also bring colour and life to this month. Read More
Office Holidays provides calendars with dates and information on public holidays and bank holidays in key countries around the world.
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