Celebrating the Holidays in a Multicultural Workplace

Your organization’s success depends upon the hard work of its people, which is why it’s important to ensure that everyone feels valued, seen, and respected. This is especially true when bringing people together for special occasions, such as end-of-year holiday celebrations. Increasingly, many of us work in multicultural workplaces, so the variety of ways to commemorate the season needs to be welcomed into the celebration.

Just as having people from a variety of cultures brings new ways of thinking into the organization, holiday celebrations can be more interesting when you incorporate new ways of celebrating.

Partying only with Santa and his reindeer-sweatered helpers at a Christmas party does not represent other cultural holidays. Ignoring the different ways people on your team celebrate does not communicate “I understand and value you, and thank you for your unique contributions to the team.” In the workplace, it’s important to make everyone feel valued and welcomed.

As someone who has spent more than 25 years as an intercultural consultant, I’ve gathered some tips to help bring your holiday celebrations into the global 21st century.

1 Understand that holiday symbols vary for different cultures.

While many people enjoy the well-known symbols of the season, such as Santa Claus, red ribbons, tree lights, and decorations, don’t assume everyone understands them or is automatically comfortable with them.

Some people might have recently come from a culture where these traditions are not as well-known, and they may be eager to join in the fun … or they may not. For example, alcohol is often a part of the holiday celebrations in Western cultures but would likely not be in many cultures in the Middle East and Africa.

2 Learn about the various holidays your coworkers celebrate.

When planning a celebration for your organization, be sure to reach out to potential event attendees, and non-judgmentally and sincerely inquire how they celebrate the holidays in their respective cultures. There are likely special foods, traditions regarding gifts (especially for children), clothing styles, and holiday activities that may be different from what you are familiar with.

Enjoy the opportunity to learn something about your colleagues that you might not have known before! A group within your team can be tasked with coordinating this kind of outreach.

3 Avoid using religious aspects in your celebration.

For many cultures, end-of-year holiday celebrations do not have any religious connotation. Instead, the celebration is more about recognizing the end of one year and sending best wishes for the new year coming up. For other cultures, holidays are celebrated because of a specific religion. However, religious beliefs are personal, so unless someone asks, religious traditions should remain private activities and not be included in your organization’s holiday events.

4 Recognize other cultural holidays.

End-of-year holidays are big annual celebrations in the West; however, other cultures have their own major holiday celebrations. For example, New Year’s celebrations occur at different times throughout the year in many other countries, such as Iran, Israel, Ethiopia, many parts of Africa, and most of East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam).

Additionally, in India, Diwali is a much more important holiday than New Year’s or Christmas, and in most of Latin America, Three Kings Day is a more important holiday than Christmas Day. Even Christmas itself is celebrated at different times, and with different traditions around the world.

5 Celebrate various holidays throughout the year.

Why wait until the end-of-year holidays roll around? A great way to keep the “Welcome” sign lit throughout the year, and for the organization to benefit from other cultural ways of thinking, working, and solving problems, is to celebrate the different cultural traditions of team members all year long.

Why not gather a team together to find out about the special holidays and traditions that mean so much to your colleagues? Ask them what makes these holidays special. Why are they important, and what should others know about them? Then invite these individuals to participate in an event hosted by the office that celebrates these holidays when they roll around on the calendar.

6 Determine when to host a holiday celebration.

In such a multicultural world, important events can happen year-round. Be prepared to schedule your holiday celebration far enough in advance so a convenient date can be selected that does not conflict with other culturally important dates around the same time. For example, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are celebrated over several days, often around the time when end-of-year events are held. Ensure the dates and times of your celebration do not interfere with significant holidays, family events, or religious activities.

7 Share the details of the event.

Before the celebration, share details about the event with attendees, including planned activities, the dress code, and who is invited. Some people might need to be informed about how to dress for events that are not common in their home country.

Additionally, different cultures may also socialize differently. Some colleagues may come from cultures where single men and women do not typically interact at social events. By sharing the details of the event beforehand, you can help attendees prepare and feel more comfortable.

8 Plan virtual celebrations for remote employees to attend.

Holiday celebrations are usually in-person events, but in today’s global world, your closest colleagues may be thousands of miles away, with most of your time spent with coworkers on the screen, not down the hall. So, it is important to create holiday celebrations that can be experienced virtually, as well as face-to-face.

With a little planning, you can schedule a virtual celebration around a specific holiday that may be of special importance as a way of building team spirit. Perhaps a colleague from India might like to share the meaning of Diwali with the team on a Zoom presentation. They could even share a favorite Diwali recipe ahead of time, and suggest participants bring their dish to the online meeting! This is an exciting way to keep the celebration spirit going all year long, and around the world.

Keep in mind that these activities work well for all teams, whether you have a very diverse, multicultural team or not (if you don’t today, you likely will tomorrow). Having strong cross-cultural communication skills and interactions is vital in today’s global world. We will all be working increasingly with people from cultures different than our own, and while they are working hard to understand our ways, we need to assure them that they—and their unique ways of working, seeing, thinking, and being—are welcomed … and celebrated!

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