Kohl’s Associates Share Their Holiday Traditions
By Michelle A. Banks, Kohl’s Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer
It’s easy to correlate December with Christmas, and to those that celebrate that holiday - Merry Christmas!! But the holidays look different for so many of our customers and associates, and at Kohl’s, we respect and value each unique celebration.
Our associates celebrate Hanukkah, Yule, Hmong New Year, Nowruz, and other holidays outside of the traditional Christmas holiday over the next several weeks. Whether it’s the food, meditation and prayers, cleansing of the house, music, traditions, or other entertainment, it’s a time to celebrate with those we love in the spirit of what’s important to each of us.
I’m honored to share the stories of four associates who celebrate four different holidays this season.
Pa Chang Her (She/Her), Associate Designer for Little Co., 8 years with Kohl's
What holiday do you celebrate: Hmong New Year
How do you celebrate this holiday? Hmong New Year is an annual celebration that takes place in the fall to honor the ancestors and spirits and give thanks for the completion of the year’s harvest as well as to welcome in a new beginning. The celebration is rooted in agricultural history and religious tradition and can range from three days to a week long. Rituals play a huge part in the celebration. Specifically, this celebration has two parts. Part one begins with an in-house ritual that calls back the wandering souls of every family member in the past to reunite with the household and to help bless the house. If there is a local shaman in the house, the family will also worship the healing spirits. Then, during the Tsa Hauv Toj, the raising the mountain celebration (part two) –this happens after the in-house ritual– with traditional clothing, enjoying traditional Hmong foods, dance, music, bull fights, and other forms of entertainment.
Why is this holiday important to you and your family? To celebrate the end of the season, ring in the new year with good health and prosperity, and honor my husband's ancestors.
What should people understand about this holiday? For three days, no money is spent. We eat boiled eggs for good luck, we wear traditional Hmong clothing, and play a traditional ball tossing game with a partner or potential bachelor/bachelorette. Not all Hmong people celebrate the first half of the Holiday (in-house ritual) because it relates to traditional shaman religious practices that some people may not follow today.
Paula Olson, She/Her, Designer for mens Tek Gear, 3 Years with Kohl’s
What holiday do you celebrate: Our family celebrates our personal interpretation of Yule and the Winter Solstice
How do you celebrate this holiday? My husband and I collaborate on making a traditional wooden Yule log where we take a log and adorn it with evergreen cuttings, pinecones, ribbons, and spices and we inset candles into the log. Then we slowly burn the candles down leading up to the winter solstice when we burn the whole log in a ceremonial campfire. We also host a big gathering with our friends and family each year around the solstice where we eat delicious food and sweets and serve glögg, a traditional Swedish mulled wine. As our daughter gets older we plan to build more traditions around the holiday.
Why is this holiday important to you and your family? My husband and I wanted to find a holiday that resonated with us in a personal way. When we started our family and had our daughter we wanted to be very intentional about the traditions that we build and how we choose to celebrate the holidays.
What should people understand about this holiday? Yule takes place at the time of the winter solstice which is the darkest and often coldest time of the year. Traditionally families would get a giant log that they would slowly feed into their fireplace to keep the fire and light going through this dark and cold time. There is a beautiful feeling of hope at the winter solstice as you make it through the shortest day of the year; you know that there will be more and more light as you slowly move towards summer.
Melanie Levy (She/Her), Production Manager for Simply Vera Vera Wang apparel, 10 years at Kohl’s
What holiday do you celebrate? Hanukkah
How do you celebrate this holiday? Daily candle lighting our menorah and saying prayers with family! Delicious meals of course included.
Why is this holiday important to you and your family? Hanukkah, also known as the “Festival of Lights,” commemorates the triumph of the Maccabees (Jewish soldiers) in reclaiming their temple from the Greek-Syrians. The Holiday lasts for eight nights to commemorate how long the holy light burned. The story is that there was one jug of oil left to light the lamps in the Temple, and it was only supposed to last one day, but it actually lasted eight days and eight nights.
How do you celebrate this holiday? We light our menorah candle daily, say prayers with family and, of course, enjoy delicious meals! I love cooking and really lean into the Holidays through food.
Noosh Prljaca, Senior Manager - Product Design, 6 Years at Kohl’s
What holiday do you celebrate? My family celebrates Nowruz, also known as Persian New Year
What should people know about this holiday? Nowruz is always on the Spring Equinox as it was originally celebrated as part of the Zoroastrian Religion way back in ancient times. Historically, it has been observed by Persians and other Iranian peoples but is now celebrated by many ethnicities worldwide.
Why is this holiday important to you and your family? We get new clothes, spring clean the house, and celebrate with lots of fun activities, food, and a really cool set-up that has symbolic items—including decorated eggs—set upon a table to represent health, happiness, fertility, etc. It's called a haft-sin. On the right is our meal from 2024!
Thank you to each associate for sharing insight into how they celebrate and for continuing to teach and educate each other about cultural differences and traditions.
Our associates are incredibly busy this time of year, and I’m thankful for each one who helps make this season special in our stores, corporate offices, distribution centers and e-fulfillment centers nationwide. No matter when, where, how and who you celebrate with, I hope all of our associates and customers have a wonderful holiday season.
Michelle A. Banks
