Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, Merry Kwanza, it goes on!

Working in a diverse environment has never been any clearer than this week. As a Catholic, we celebrate Christmas. But I work with colleagues from 10 countries and 6 continents. You don't want to offend anyone, but at sometimes, being politically correct is not at the forefront on your mind. I said Merry Christmas the other day to a friend at work and she was standing next to an Indian Colleague, he said, "don't you mean, Happy Holidays". Agreed, we need to be cognizant of other people's backgrounds, but in the same breath, we so worried about offending people that we can't be ourselves anymore. My boss is Jewish, but shipped Christmas presents to her family the other day, my cousin is agnostic but gives Christmas presents. What's a girl to do?

Well, one way to embrace it, celebrate the differences! My first post in the blog talked about how food helps people connect, that couldn't more true during the holidays. When I was 21 and doing a semester in Holland, all of the international students (37 students, 15 countries) celebrated Easter at my flat. Everyone brought a dish from their heritage or traditions. We had a blast. That was my first Easter having Korean BBQ, Ham, Crepes, Duck, Herring, etc.

My team is celebrating in the same way on Monday for our "Holiday" party. Instead of focusing on what not to do, who you might offend, embrace it! Celebrate the differences, if we were all the same, how boring would that be! We are also adding a fun twist, the Ugly Christmas Sweater. Here are some great photos I found online. Can't wait to see how our party turns out!

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