Category: Culture

  • International Tea Day

    International Tea Day By Sharon Schweitzer Tea is a beverage made from the Camellia sinesis plant. Tea is the world’s most consumed drink, after water. It is believed that tea originated in northeast India, north Myanmar and southwest China, but the exact place where the plant first grew is not known. There is evidence that…

  • International Civil Aviation Day

    International Civil Aviation Day   By  Sharon  Schweitzer International Civil Aviation Day was established in 1994 as part of ICAO’s 50th anniversary activities.  The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a United Nations agency, which helps 193 countries to cooperate together and share their skies to their mutual benefit. In 1996, pursuant to an ICAO…

  • Intercultural Etiquette Holiday Guide

    Intercultural Etiquette Holiday Guide     By  Sharon Schweitzer While any time is a good time to show your appreciation for someone who regularly makes your life easier and more enjoyable, the holidays traditionally are the time to express your gratitude in the form of cash or a gift. By no means is holiday tipping…

  • Yi Peng Lantern Festival

    Yi Peng Lantern Festival By Sharon Schweitzer Yi Peng Festival is a Thai celebration held on the evening of the twelfth month’s full moon in the traditional lunar calendar. It is an ancient celebration that was adapted from Brahmin origins and is inextricably linked with Thai Lanna culture. The Lanna culture dates back to the…

  • National Native American Heritage Month

    National Native American Heritage Month   By Sharon Schweitzer National Native American Heritage Month is celebrated each year in November. It is a time to celebrate the traditions, languages and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities and ensure their rich histories and contributions continue to thrive with each passing…

  • International Students Day

    International Students Day By Sharon Schweitzer In 1939, students of the Medical Faculty at Charles University in Prague held a demonstration to commemorate the formation of an independent Czechoslovak Republic. The Nazis brutally suppressed the gathering, resulting in a student Jan Opletal’s death. Thousands of students turned up at his funeral procession – an event…

  • National Gratitude Month

    National Gratitude Month By Sharon Schweitzer   In the words of the famous Roman orator and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero: “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the mother of all the others.”.  The ancients knew about gratitude. We know about gratitude today, too. It’s one of the first big lessons we learn…

  • National Author’s Day

    National Author’s Day By Sharon Schweitzer The creator of National Author’s Day is still unknown. In 1928, Nellie Verne Burt McPherson, the president of the Bement, Illinois Women’s Club suggested setting aside a day to celebrate American authors. She was a teacher and an avid reader throughout her life. While she was recuperating in the…

  • National Mentoring Day

    National Mentoring Day By Sharon Schweitzer National Mentoring Day is the largest celebration of mentoring in the world, taking place each year on October 27th. Devised in 2014 and established as a national holiday in London, England, in 2016 by The Houses of Parliament, National Mentoring Day seeks to pair the thousands of mentoring programs…

  • The Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity

    The Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity By Sharon Schweitzer The Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity takes place every year on October 12 in Argentina. The holiday revisits the day Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas and sparks a conversation surrounding diversity and the importance of indigenous communities. It was first observed in 1914…