PPB December 2017

feed back Send feedback on articles in PPB or opinions on industry issues to JamesK@ppai.org . Sensitivity And Respect … Three Days Of The Year Electronic calendars, like Outlook and Google calendars, make life a breeze. However, there is one thing electronic calendars don’t have that paper ones usually do—a complete listing of religious holidays for the year. I’ve been told that Outlook doesn’t even list Easter. Outlook and others don’t list the Jewish holidays at all. I’m the first to tell you that we have a lot of holidays, too numerous to mention. I’m writing to make a request about only three days out of 365—the holiest days on the Jewish calendar. And I’m asking industry company and regional association meeting organizers for their sensitivity and respect on these days. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur take place in the fall; Passover is in the spring. Simply put, the first two are to Judaism what Easter is to Christianity—holy days. Passover is Judaism’s equivalent of Christmas. In recent years, more industry events have been held on these Jewish holy days than ever before. In discussions with industry leaders who have scheduled the events, they all confess to not checking further into holidays. And because they are using electronic calendars, they simply didn’t know about the conflict. By the way, if a trade show or meeting facility is less expensive on a particular day during the fall or spring, it may be because that date coincides with one of these holidays. Other industries are showing sensitivity and respect by not booking on these holidays. I ask that our industry do the same. Here are the dates for 2018: Passover, March 31; Rosh Hashanah, September 10; Yom Kippur, September 19. All Jewish holidays start the night before, and the night before these three holy days has special significance for Jews and their families. A good friend of mine recently remarked that the promotional products industry probably has a higher percentage of Jews than many other industries. That’s likely true. It’s in the spirit of cultural acceptance and inclusion that this letter has been written. I am confident that, in the past, when an event was scheduled on a Jewish holy day it was not meant as a lack of sensitivity or respect; it just meant that not everyone had the dates. Now you do. Thank you. WAYNE GREENBERG, MAS / President / JB of Florida / Tampa, Florida / PPAI 106076 8 | DECEMBER 2017 |