One of the benefits of having a remote team is that we can collaborate while scattered across the globe. During the holidays, it is really exciting to hear about the different holiday traditions of our team which is tied to the culture of the country in which they reside. This year, Kuvio Creative has decided to close from December 24 until January 1 to give employees a much needed break to celebrate with family and friends. This is one of the many ways we aim to revolutionize the corporate world and prioritize work-life balance.

Today we want to share a few of our staff’s holiday traditions from 4 different corners of the world.

The United States of America

We have team members scattered across the country with Texas, Oregon, Massachusetts, Florida, and Ohio represented. In the United States, Christmas is commonly celebrated with a holiday tree in the home, visits from Santa Claus for children, and gift exchanges between family and friends. In addition, on the holiday many people will enjoy a large dinner and serve either turkey or ham. While we have all heard about the ideal “white Christmas” for many of our U.S. employees the weather is toasty. In Fort Worth, Texas, where our founder resides, it is expected to be a balmy 66 degrees Fahrenheit. This year our marketing associate, Kayla, who celebrates Christmas,  spoke with us about celebrating Hanukkah with her roommate for the first time. She explains, “It was so great to be invited to experience these different holiday traditions and to learn about a different culture. My roommate and I joined her huge family in a big group video chat to light the menorah together. It was amazing to see her family, who live all across the country, all come together for this special moment. Afterward we made latkes which was tons of fun and delicious!”

England

Two of our team members, who happen to be brothers, live in England and celebrate Christmas. Here, some traditions are similar to those in the United States, which makes sense based on the countries’ intertwined history. Unique to England though are mince pies, a delicacy inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine and Christmas or “figgy” pudding, a dessert inspired by a wheat-based pottage served in the Middle Ages. Decorating with holly and ivy also originated in England as a way to celebrate the winter solstice and bring some color to the darkest month of the year. Finally, Christmas crackers were invented in London and remain a popular holiday tradition. They were first available in the 1840s and inspired by traditional, paper-wrapped French bonbons. However, the became widely popular when the inventor found a way to make them “crack” when pulled apart.

Australia and New Zealand

One of our designers, Kris-Anne, is from New Zealand, but will be celebrating the holidays in Australia this year. She noted that the two nations share similar traditions. When asked about her holiday plans she said, “ Because it’s in the middle of summer in the south pacific at this time, a typical Christmas involves sausages and meat on the barbie, going to the beach, oh and can’t miss the pavlova garnished with fresh red berries and raspberry coulis!” As she noted, these nations celebrate the holiday during their warmest months and some areas in these nations will also celebrate again with a more English style holiday meal in the middle of winter. Other traditions include, leaving pineapple chunks out for Santa and celebrating with a campout. Santa can also often be spotted wearing jandals, a shoe that comes from combining the words Japanese and sandals.

Brazil

Brazil is home to three members of our development team and they will all be celebrating the holidays there this year. Since Portugal colonized Brazil, many of the holiday traditions have Portuguese roots. Nativity scenes and Christmas plays are very popular here as well as fireworks displays in larger cities. Santa Claus is called Papai Noel or Bom Velhinho, which means Good Old Man. Another Brazilian tradition is to award a 13th salary, or an extra months wages around the holidays in order to stimulate the economy. This money can be spent on some of the traditional holiday foods which include turkey, pork, ham, salads, fresh and dried fruits and rice cooked with raisins. Often, this special meal will be served late on Christmas Eve and then at midnight family and friends will celebrate together or attend church.

We hoped this post helped you learn a little more about holiday celebrations around the world. Where will you be celebrating this year? What is your favorite tradition? Let us know on Twitter, @KuvioCreative.

Happy Holidays from the entire Kuvio team!