Alright, let’s talk about something that came up recently – figuring out Haitian holidays. It wasn’t for a vacation, unfortunately, more for practical reasons. I’ve been working on a small project, remotely, with a couple of folks based in Haiti, and scheduling calls was becoming a bit hit-or-miss.
Starting the Search
So, the first thing I did was just plain old searching online. You know, typing stuff like “holidays in Haiti” or “Haiti work calendar”. Simple stuff. I wasn’t looking for anything super deep at first, just needed to know when things might be closed or when people wouldn’t be available.
I started jotting down the dates that popped up frequently. It seemed straightforward enough initially. You get the usual suspects like New Year’s Day, sure. But then I noticed quite a few unique ones.
Digging a Bit Deeper
I realized pretty quickly that just having a list of dates wasn’t enough. Some holidays seemed like major national events, others maybe more regional or observed differently. I needed a bit more context. For instance, I saw dates related to independence and ancestors, which sounded really significant.
This is where it got interesting. I tried to understand the vibe of these holidays. Are they solemn remembrance days? Big celebration days? Family-focused days? Knowing this helps gauge whether someone might still check emails or if the whole country basically shuts down.
- I looked for descriptions, not just dates.
- Tried to cross-reference between a few different sources, you know, just to see if the info matched up.
- Paid attention to holidays around Carnival and Easter, as those seemed like extended periods rather than single days off.
Putting it Together
After spending maybe an hour or so gathering this info, I put together a simple list for myself. I didn’t need a fancy calendar app integration, just something basic I could glance at before proposing meeting times.
I marked down the main public holidays that seemed most likely to affect business availability. Stuff like:
- Independence Day
- Ancestors’ Day
- Carnival period (noted it’s a multi-day thing)
- Labour Day
- Flag Day
- Dessalines Day
- Christmas Day
The key wasn’t just the list, though. It was understanding that some dates are deeply important culturally. It made me more mindful when scheduling. Instead of just asking “Are you free Tuesday?”, I could check my little list and see if Tuesday was, say, Flag Day, and maybe suggest Wednesday instead, or at least acknowledge the holiday if proposing a meeting near that date.
The Outcome
It’s actually made communication smoother. Fewer emails asking “Are you working today?” and less confusion. Just taking that little bit of time to research the local context, specifically the holidays, showed respect and helped practically in getting things done. It wasn’t complicated, just required a bit of focused effort to look beyond my own calendar. Definitely worth doing if you work with people internationally.
