Hi team,
On behalf of the eHealth Technologies executive leadership team and the DEI Committee, I’d like to wish you all a happy International Women’s Day! This year’s theme is #EmbraceEquity, and I encourage all of you to play a part in actively supporting and embracing equity within your spheres of influence. In and outside of the workplace, we can make a difference in creating and fostering an inclusive world. Click here to learn more about this year’s theme.
In addition to International Women’s Day, there are multiple events and observances in March that we’d like to highlight below – big thanks to our DEI Committee for contributing! Do you celebrate any of these observances? If so, we’d love to hear more about why they are important to you. Feel free to share your memories and photos and we may include them in the next employee newsletter – shoot an email to BrilliantIdeas@ehealthtechnologies.com.
Women’s History Month
Throughout Women’s History Month, we celebrate the contributions of influential women from the past and present. While it’s important to celebrate women all year long, Congress sets aside one month each year to recognize the sacrifices made by women, for women, to help make our country — and world, rather — a fairer, safer place for all.
National Deaf Awareness Month
National Deaf History Month runs from March 13 to April 15 every year. Although it’s not a federally recognized holiday, it’s a time to raise awareness about the deaf community and their struggles in our society. The month also focuses on honoring the immense contributions of deaf individuals and the deaf community to our country. During this month, we also get to learn more about the ongoing advocacy work many organizations undertake to make life easier and more inclusive for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.
Irish–American Heritage Month is celebrated by proclamation of the President and Congress in the United States to honor the achievements and contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants living in the United States. It was first celebrated in 1991. The heritage month is in March to coincide with Saint Patrick’s Day, the Irish national holiday on March 17. Heritage Months are usually proclaimed by nations to celebrate centuries of contributions by a group to a country.
March 8th – Holi
Holi is also known as the Festival of Colours and is one of India’s grandest and most popular celebrations. The Holi festival traditionally celebrates the victory of good over evil. Many people in India believe that this holiday shows that the devotion of Hindu people can augment the power of Lord Vishnu. This celebration also honors Lord Krishna, a reincarnation of Lord Vishnu.
March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day 2023 will take place on Friday, March 17th and is the annual celebration of the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon.
March 21 – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The day commemorates the lives of those who died to fight for democracy and equal human rights for all in South Africa during apartheid, an institutionally racist system built upon racial discrimination. The Sharpeville Massacre on 21 March 1960 is the reference day for this public holiday.
March 22nd – Ugadi, Gudi Padwa
Ugadi also known as Samvatsarādi, is New Year’s Day according to the Hindu calendar and is celebrated in most of the Indian states. The “pachadi” dish is especially important. It contains numerous flavors in a single soup. It can be sweet, then sour; salty, then bitter. It is meant to symbolize the idea that all manner of life experiences may befall one in the year ahead.
March 22 to April 21
Ramadan: the start of Islam’s sacred month — during this time Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn until dusk. The Islamic calendar follows the phases of the moon, commonly known as the lunar cycle. As a result, the Holy month of Ramadan falls approximately 10 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar.
March 30th – Ram Navami
Ram Navami occurs on the 9th day of the month of Chaitra on the Hindu calendar to commemorate the birth of the god Rama. Rama is believed to have been an incarnation of the god Vishnu and a wise and good king whose reign (the “Rama Rajya”) brought about great prosperity. The holiday is also celebrated in Nepal and by Hindus around the world.
To celebrate the occasion, devotees will chant appropriate mantras all day long. They will also offer Rama flowers and fruits and go to temples or family shrines at noontime to pray to him. Additionally, there will be processions of his statues, rocking of smaller versions of his statue in a cradle, drinking of a sweet, peppered jaggery beverage, fasting until evening, and feasting during the evening.
Some also ceremonially bathe a small Rama idol in water, as one would do to a newborn baby. In southern India, Ram Navami is also believed to be the day Rama married his only wife, Sita, and processions will involve both of their images.
March 31 – International Transgender Day of Visibility
Trans Day of Visibility is an annual awareness day celebrated around the world. The day is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender nonconforming people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans justice.