As the world becomes smaller, even small companies are broadening their workforce to include employees worldwide. This means that local or national holidays don’t apply to international employees. This article will cover popular gift-giving holidays worldwide so you can celebrate as often as you’d like with your employees!
Gifting Holidays
Date | Holiday | Where It’s Celebrated |
January 1st | New Years Day | Most Countries |
January 1st | Saint Basil’s Day | Greek |
January 6th | Three Kings Day / Epiphany | Spain, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua |
January 7th | Orthodox Christmas Day | Russia |
January 21- February 15 (Date changes) | Chinese New Year / Spring Festival / Vietnamese New Year / Lunar New Year | China and other Asian Countries |
January 15th or February 15th | Tu B’shevat | Israel Jews |
February 14th | Valentines Day | Around the World |
March | Mardis Gras | USA |
March 8 | International Women’s Day | Around the World |
March 17 | St Patricks Day | Arount the World |
March – April | Easter | Most Western Countries |
April 21-22 | EID | Muslim Countries |
April 22 | Earth Day | Around the world |
May 8 | Parent’s Day | Around the world |
May 9 | Mother’s Day | Around the world |
June 20 | Father’s Day | Around the world |
July 4 | Independance Day | USA |
October | Oktoberfest | Germany |
October 11 | Canadian Thanksgiving Day | Canada |
Oct 31 | Halloween | USA |
October- November | Diwali | India |
November 2 | Day of the Dead | Mexico |
End November – Mid December | Hanukkah | Jewish Holiday |
November 25 | Thanksgiving | USA |
December 6 | Lunar New Year- Bohdi Day | Japan |
December 25 | Christmas | Around the World |
New Years Eve and Day
Whether you choose to celebrate the traditional western world’s New Years on January 1st or the Chinese New Year, It’s a great time to celebrate the old year and with employees a prosperous new year.
Calendars, planners, or a personalized notebook are all great gifts to give for a New Years’ gift to your employees.
Tu B’Shevat or EarthDay
If you want a reason to celebrate your employees while also celebrating nature, Tu B’Shevat or Earth Day are two holidays you can choose from. Tu B’Shevat is a Jewish holiday emphasizing the need to care for the earth. It happens on the 15th of the month in either January or February.
Earth day is a day set aside to focus on positive changes we can make that help the planet. For both of these holidays, you can give employees a tree or flower, or make it a team activity to pick up trash in a park.
Valentines’ Day
Although Valentines Day has traditionally been a day for lovers, in recent years, it’s morphed into a day that friends and employers celebrate. Express your appreciation for your employees by sending them a valentine as a recognition note or by bringing in a dessert for the whole office to share.
International Women’s Day
Celebrate your female employees on Women’s Day. This is also a great day to look at your organization and ensure you don’t unintentionally have a glass ceiling for women. Although many organizations promote men and women alike, women can face obstacles men don’t face. Women communicate differently, meaning their opinions aren’t recognized as often as men’s.
St. Patricks Day
Celebrated around the world, Saint Patrick’s Day is a fun holiday to observe with your employees. Give your employees green gifts or bring in green food.
Easter
Easter is one religious holiday that’s become widely celebrated by everyone. The holiday varies and can fall in March or April. Candy treats, and small spring gifts are appropriate gifts for employees on easter.
EID (Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr)
EID encompasses two Muslim holidays Eid Ul Fitr “Festival of Breaking of the Fast” and Eid Ul Adha “Holiday of the Sacrifice”. These holidays, along with Ramadan, are critical Muslim holidays celebrated together. Appropriate employee gifts include food items and other small gifts.
Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Parent’s Day
Parent-celebrating days are traditionally celebrated by the children and parents. If you choose to gift your employees, make sure you aren’t excluding non-parent employees or those with only furry kids.
Employers best celebrate parent-oriented holidays by providing PTO, maternity, paternity, or “paw”ternity leave (for furry kids)
Independence Day
The Fourth of July is one of the biggest holidays in the USA and celebrates the nation’s creation. Employees value summer-oriented gifts for this holiday, including extra time off, flexible schedules, or casual Fridays.
Diwali
A Hindu holiday, Diwali celebrates the triumph of light over dark. It’s also called the Festival of Lights and occurs in the fall. Appropriate employee gifts include lanterns, fireworks, colorful lights, or sweets.
Oktoberfest
Started in Germany; Oktoberfest is a beer festival. As an employer, you probably don’t want to encourage employees to drink on the job, but you can bring fun fountain drinks or lunch to celebrate Oktoberfest and the end of a busy summer.
Halloween is a fun holiday that started out as a kid’s holiday that’s morphed into a fun holiday for adults. Gift employees candy treats or fun Halloween decorations.
Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico as a day of remembrance for loved ones who have died. It’s become a holiday that’s culturally celebrated around the world. Appropriate employee gifts include food and Day of the Dead- gifts.
Thanksgiving
In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated in October and in the USA, it’s celebrated in November. Thanksgiving is a perfect time of the year to express your gratitude to your employees and give them a token of that gratitude. Some employers gift a turkey, while others give extra time-off or gift cards.
Hanukkah
is an eight-day Jewish holiday called the Festival of Lights. Gift-giving during Hanukkah has become a newer part of the holiday tradition. Hanukkah falls between the end of November and the middle of December. Giving your employees a gift early in December can cover both the Hanukkah and Christmas holidays.
Bohdi Day / Lunar New Year
Celebrated in Japan as the Lunar New Year, Bohdi Day is the day the Budah reached enlightenment under a Bohdi Tree. It’s celebrated in Japan and with Buddhists around the world. Employee gifts for Bohdi Day can include meditation-oriented gifts or food.
St Nicholas Day / Christmas
Around the world, Christmas is celebrated on various days. The most widespread is December 25th. Many employers commemorate Christmas by throwing a party, gifting a ham, or providing another type of gift.
St Nicholas Day is on December 6th and for many parts of the world starts, the Christmas holiday season.
Conclusion
Although it’s fun to have a special day to celebrate with your team, it’s more important to make sure that you take time regularly to express appreciation for your employees. Recognizing team members quickly after they’ve done something amazing will have a greater effect on morale and their work experience than celebrating fun holidays around the world will.
About Thanks
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Thanks customers benefit from the same decades of research in employee motivation and company culture that O.C. Tanner enterprise clients enjoy, but in a product that is geared for fast, easy and simple deployment. Whether you’re starting a recognition program or improving and expanding on what you already have, Thanks has everything you need to engage your people with effective, scalable recognition.