As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, workplaces around the world enter a season filled with celebration, reflection, and cultural significance. Winter is one of the most holiday-rich times of the year, with traditions spanning religions, cultures, and communities. While December is often associated primarily with Christmas in many Western contexts, a truly inclusive workplace recognizes that employees observe a wide range of celebrations - from Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, and Winter Solstice traditions to Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, and more.
For organizations committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), acknowledging these holidays isn’t about checking a box or creating an exhaustive calendar. It’s about fostering a workplace culture where employees feel respected, seen, and valued for who they are and the traditions that shape their identity. Winter presents a powerful opportunity to demonstrate this commitment in meaningful, human-centered ways.
The Importance of Recognizing Diverse Winter Holidays
Acknowledging diverse holidays helps reinforce a core principle: people bring their full selves to work, not just their job titles. Cultural and religious traditions are deeply personal expressions of values, family history, and identity.
When an organization shows awareness and respect for these traditions, it sends a clear message that employees are not expected to conform to a single dominant culture to belong.
Inclusion is an active practice that requires intention. While an organization may employ people from many backgrounds, inclusion means creating systems, policies, and daily practices that honor their unique experiences. Recognizing diverse winter holidays is one simple but powerful expression of that intention.
A Look at the Rich Landscape of Winter Traditions
Winter holidays span a variety of cultures, religions, and geographies.
Some of the significant celebrations include:
Diwali – Though often in late fall, this Festival of Lights is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and across South Asia and the diaspora.
Hanukkah – An eight-day Jewish festival celebrating resilience and the rededication of the Second Temple.
Bodhi Day – A Buddhist holiday honoring the moment Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment.
Las Posadas – A Latin American Christian tradition reenacting Mary and Joseph’s journey.
Winter Solstice / Yule – Celebrated by Pagan, Wiccan, and various Indigenous cultures as the return of light.
Christmas (Western and Orthodox) – Observed on December 25th or January 7th across many Christian communities.
Ōmisoka & Japanese New Year – One of Japan’s most important celebrations, marking renewal and preparation for the year ahead.
Kwanzaa – A cultural celebration honoring African American heritage and the Seven Principles of unity and community.
Lohri, Pongal, and Makar Sankranti – Harvest festivals celebrated across India in January.
Lunar New Year – Honored across East and Southeast Asia, marking the beginning of a new year with traditions centered on family, renewal, and prosperity.
This list is far from exhaustive, and that’s the point. The diversity of winter celebrations reflects the diversity of the modern workforce. Every holiday represents a story, a family tradition, a community connection, or a cultural legacy.
Why Winter Holidays Can Be Particularly Sensitive in the Workplace
Winter holidays often bring strong emotions - joy, nostalgia, grief, family pressure, or cultural expectations. Workplaces that focus narrowly on one holiday can unintentionally create exclusion or discomfort.
For example:
Employees who do not celebrate Christmas may feel isolated when office décor or events exclusively center around Christmas themes.
Workers who observe holidays on the lunar calendar may feel separately siloed or overlooked when their celebrations fall in January or February.
Some employees may not celebrate holidays for religious, personal, or cultural reasons and may feel pressured to participate in workplace festivities.
An inclusive winter holiday approach acknowledges these dynamics and prioritizes belonging over assumption.
Inclusive Practices for Honoring Winter Holidays at Work
Creating a more inclusive winter season doesn’t require large budgets or elaborate programs. Small, thoughtful actions often make the biggest impact. Here are some strategies organizations can implement:
1. Diversify Your Holiday Communications
Instead of company-wide messages solely focused on Christmas or New Year’s, incorporate multiple celebrations. A simple greeting or internal message that acknowledges a variety of winter holidays sends a powerful message of inclusion.
2. Build a Multicultural Holiday Calendar
Maintain an internal calendar of cultural and religious holidays, including date variations. This isn’t about tracking every holiday; it's about demonstrating awareness and helping teams plan respectfully around observances, fasting periods, or days of rest.
3. Offer Flexible Time Off
Floating holidays or flexible PTO policies allow employees to take time off according to their personal traditions, not just federally recognized holidays. This shifts the decision-making power from the employer to the individual.
4. Be Mindful With Decorations and Events
A “winter celebration” can be more inclusive than a “Christmas party.” Themes like “winter” or “light” allow employees of all backgrounds to participate comfortably. When decorating common spaces, incorporate symbols that reflect various cultural traditions or stick to neutral, seasonal imagery.
5. Encourage Voluntary Sharing, Never Expectation
Some employees love sharing their cultural traditions at work; others may prefer privacy. Provide opportunities such as voluntary story-sharing sessions, potlucks, or internal blog features without implying that participation is required.
6. Educate Managers
Managers play a critical role in creating inclusive spaces.
Offer guidance on:
supporting flexible scheduling
avoiding assumptions about who celebrates what
scheduling meetings during holidays or observances
creating space for employees to discuss their needs or preferences
Equipping managers with cultural awareness skills strengthens inclusion far beyond the holiday season.
Benefits of Inclusive Holiday Practices
Organizations that take an inclusive approach to winter holidays often see positive outcomes across the board:
Stronger sense of belonging: Employees feel recognized and valued beyond their professional output.
Improved team cohesion: Learning about different traditions fosters empathy, curiosity, and connection.
Higher employee engagement: When employees see their identity affirmed, they are more likely to contribute fully and authentically.
Better retention and recruitment: Inclusive practices enhance organizational reputation and appeal to diverse talent pools.
Increased cultural competence: Exposure to various traditions enriches the entire workplace, enabling better global and cross-cultural collaboration.
In essence, holiday inclusion is a low-cost, high-impact DEI strategy.
Winter Holidays as a Lens for Year-Round Inclusion
While winter holidays bring these issues into focus, true inclusion must be a year-round practice. Honoring diverse holidays in the winter is a meaningful starting point, but inclusion should not begin and end in December.
Use winter as an opportunity to ask broader organizational questions:
Are our policies inclusive every day, not just during the holidays?
Do employees feel comfortable asking for accommodations or time off?
Are managers equipped to handle cultural differences sensitively?
Do our celebrations, communications, and events reflect the diversity of our workforce?
Winter holidays can illuminate gaps in inclusion, but they can also inspire meaningful, lasting change.
A Season of Light, Warmth, and Belonging
Winter holidays remind us that people across cultures celebrate light, renewal, community, and hope in different ways. When workplaces honor holiday diversity, they create environments where employees feel empowered to bring their full selves to work, not only during the holiday season but all year long.
Embracing diverse winter holidays is more than a gesture of respect. It’s a meaningful step toward building a workplace culture rooted in belonging.
