Cultural Diversity

October 2025 Cultural Diversity Update

Although October is a month full of holidays, it usually has no blockbuster holidays. 2025 is an exception as Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, occurs on October 20th. Chinese National Day is probably the most notable event as one-fifth of the world’s population will have a week off to mark the anniversary of the People’s Republic. The main U.S. holiday in October is Columbus Day. While it may be a federal holiday, it has taken a battering in recent years as many people reflect on Columbus as a person and the effect of European colonization on the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Month info: The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, in Latin ‘oct’; means ‘eight’. October retained its name after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally been created by the Romans.

Featured Holiday in October

October 1: Chinese National Day

Each year, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) observes the anniversary of its foundation on October 1st 1949, when Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China from atop Beijing’s Gate of Heavenly Peace.

In China, the holiday is officially three days, but the holidays are usually extended by bridge holidays compensated by working on weekends depending how the holiday falls in the week. This creates a so-called ‘Golden Week’ of holidays. This makes it the second largest holiday period in China. This approach was introduced in 2000 to help boost domestic tourism and to allow families to make long journeys to visit relatives.

Facts about China

Almost a quarter of Chinese people share three surnames: Li, Wang and Zhang.
One in every five people in the world is Chinese. China is the world’s most populous country, with over 1.38 billion people, and the second-largest country by land area.
China has more English speakers than the United States.
1 in every 3 socks you have were made in the district of Datang in Zhuji, China, now known as “Sock City”.
More people go to church on Sunday in China than in the whole of Europe.
The Great Wall of China is 13,170 miles long. It was built by one million laborers 2,200 years ago. 400,000 of those workers died while making it and their bodies were buried inside the wall. It’s so long that it covers three countries – China, North Korea and Mongolia.
In China, there is an “Elderly Rights” law which makes it illegal for anyone who has parents over 60 not to visit them regularly.
Many Chinese words have been adopted into the English language including “ketchup”, “typhoon”, and “tycoon.”

Notable Holidays in October 2025

Oct 3: German Day of Unity

Since 1990, the ‘Tag der Deutschen Einheit’ has been a national holiday in Germany. It is the only official national holiday in Germany. All other holidays are managed at a federal level.

The reunification of Germany took place on 3 October 1990, when the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).

Following the GDR’s first free elections on 18 March 1990, negotiations between the GDR and FRG culminated in a Unification Treaty.

Oct 13: Hispanic Day

This national holiday commemorates the exact date when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas.

Columbus was attempting to find a western sea route to India. After leaving the Canary Islands, Columbus’ ships had been sailing west for five weeks, when on the morning of October 12th 1492, land was spotted.

Though the holiday marks the day Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World, in 1987 Spain removed any reference to Spanish colonialism from the name of the holiday.

Oct 20: Diwali

The Festival of Lights is known as Deepavali (deep – lamp, vali – array). This is the name of the festival in Southern India and is how the festival is referred to in other Asian countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. In Northern India, it is more commonly known as Diwali, but they are essentially the same celebration.

In these countries and among Hindus worldwide, the celebration revolves around the triumph of good over evil, purity over impurity, andlight over darkness.

Oct 21: The Ochi Day

The day celebrates Greece’s refusal to yield to the powers of the Axis in 1940.

In October 1940, Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy, backed by Germany, demanded to occupy Greece. General Ioannis Metaxas famously responded “Ochi!” – “No!” in Greek.

That “No!” brought Greece into the war on the side of the Allies. Indeed, for a period, Greece was Britain’s only ally against Hitler.

Oct. 3 – German Unity Day

Oct 12 – Spanish Day

Oct. 2 – Durga Puja

We have added several images to brighten up your backgrounds and highlight cultural diversity during October! For instance, If you are Spanish and on a video conference on Oct. 12, why not show your national pride and set your background to our Spanish National Day background?

National Days in October

19 countries have their national days in October. How many people in the company do you know from each country? Remember to wish them a happy national day!

Date	Country	Holiday
Oct 01	China	National Day of the PRC: Proclamation of People’s Republic of China 1949
Oct 01	Nigeria	Independence Day: Independence from the United Kingdom in 1960
Oct 01	Tuvalu	Independence Day: Independence from the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) in 1975
Oct 02	Guinea	Independence Day: Celebrates the anniversary of independence from France on 2 October 1958
Oct 03	Germany	German Unity Day: Unification of West Germany and East Germany in 1990
Oct 03	Iraq	National Day: Independence from the United Kingdom in 1932
Oct 04	Lesotho	Independence Day: Independence from the United Kingdom in 1966
Oct 09	Uganda	Independence Day: Independence from the United Kingdom in 1962
Oct 10	Fiji	Fiji Day: Independence from the United Kingdom in 1970
Oct 10	Taiwan	Double Tenth Day: Commemorating the 1911 Wuchang Uprising that led to the founding of the Republic of China
Oct 12	Equatorial Guinea	Independence Day: Independence from Spain in 1968
Oct 12	Spain	Fiesta Nacional de España: Columbus discovery of America in 1492
Oct 19	Niue	Constitution Day: Self-government in free association with New Zealand in 1974
Oct 24	Zambia	Independence Day: Declaration of independence from the United Kingdom in 1964
Oct 26	Austria	National Day: Commemorates the Declaration of Neutrality.
Oct 27	St. Vincent & the Grenadines	Independence Day: Independence from the United Kingdom in 1979
Oct 27	Turkmenistan	Independence Day: Declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991
Oct 28	Czech Republic	Independent Czechoslovak State Day: Independence from Austria-Hungary in 1918
Oct 29	Turkey	Republic Day: Cumhuriyet Bayrami. Republican constitution in 1923

There is a Day for That!

Throughout the month, there are days set aside to observe all sorts of events, some serious and some not so serious. These days can provide interesting ways to engage employees in diversity issues. The table below shows a selection of these days with some ideas how you could use them within your organization.

Day	Observance	Suggestion
1st	National Homemade Cookies Day	Bring some cookies to the office.
1st	International Coffee Day	Did you know? Globally, we drink about 2.25 billion cups of coffee each day. See more facts.
3rd	National Techies Day	If you use IT help desk today, make sure you wish them a happy Techies Day!
13th	Columbus Day	Quiz: How well do you know Christopher Columbus?
16th	National Dictionary Day	What’s your favorite word that most people might not know?
19th	National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day	Take 10 mins to get rid of those unused icons. Change your desktop background.
31st	Halloween	Read about this celebration of all things spooky! Quiz: Try our Halloween Quiz!