Celebrating Holidays with Our Teams Around the Globe

When she was a child growing up in China, Lily Xu couldn’t wait for Spring Festival eve.

The night before Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, she’d excitedly open the traditional red envelope that commemorates the first day of the lunar year to find lucky money from her parents and elders – money that symbolizes good wishes and luck for the new year ahead.?

“I’d count my money and compare the amount to my sister’s,” joked Lily, Phibro Asia Pacific human resources director, China, Shanghai. ?

Among her other favorites are the Moon Festival celebrating the full moon, the Dragon Boat Festival offering sacrifice to gods and ancestors through various activities including dragon boat racing, and Tomb Sweeping Day when families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites and pray for them.?

Lily not only celebrates with family and friends, but with her Phibro co-workers.

“It has been a tradition at Phibro China that the entire team and their family members gather before the Chinese New Year for activities and a group dinner to celebrate the achievements in the past year and welcome in the new one,” she said. ?

With more than 1,800 people in 67 locations spanning 36 countries, Phibro Animal Health prioritizes recognizing unique celebrations, cultures and faiths.

“Employees in each location are free to celebrate local holidays with their families and friends,” said Lily. “Phibro makes sure of it.”?

“The company publishes all of the major global holidays internally so we can learn what’s important and celebrated in each country we operate,” said Katia Bortoluzzi, vice president, human resources for Phibro’s South American Region in Brazil.

Katia’s favorite holiday is Christmas “because it’s a moment we gather family and celebrate life.” But she loves the New Year, which is celebrated during Brazil’s summer months (December through March). She celebrates at the beach or at parties, “and we have a tradition of wearing white clothing.”

In June, Phibro locations in Brazil commemorate Festa Junina, an annual Catholic tradition in the country recognizing the harvest and the saints, Saint John, Saint Peter and Saint Anthony. ?

“It’s a big party across the country,” said Katia. “Phibro throws a party and people wear costumes. We also have a Christmas party each year, too, with employees from several locations participating.”

Passover and Shavuot are Keren Kedar’s most important holidays.

“Passover is one of the main holidays in the Jewish religion in which we celebrate the escape from slavery in Egypt,” said Keren, vice president of human resources, Phibro Israel. “Shavuot is associated with the grain harvest in the Torah (the Bible) where you cherish the produce from nature and have festive meals of dairy foods.”

She enjoys celebrating Passover and Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New year) with her Phibro colleagues.

“For both holidays, the human resources teams from all of our Israeli locations come into the main office. We raise a toast, bless each other and have something sweet to eat,” she said. “We make room for the celebration of main holidays of the different religions. It’s important for us to cherish and present the beauty of our employees’ important holidays.” ??

It’s important to Katia, Lily and Keren that, as a global company, Phibro “cares about what’s important for our people in each location,” said Katia.

“There is respect for all nationalities,” said Keren. “We are all equal.”

While Lily admits she doesn’t have a favorite holiday now, “I just enjoy the peaceful moments with people that I care about most,” she celebrates many and appreciates working for a company that celebrates right alongside her.

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