By Smriti, HR Partner
At McAfee, we love to recognize and celebrate the traditions and holidays observed by our employees around the world. With nearly 7,500 employees spanned across the globe, you can imagine just how many occasions we get to celebrate! This week, we happen to be celebrating one of my favorite national holidays – the Republic Day of India.
Observed annually on January 26, the Republic Day of India honors the day on which India’s constitution came into effect.
Celebrating at McAfee: M-ALIVE
At McAfee India, we go BIG for Republic Day. Our M-ALIVE Committee (Employee Engagement Committee) distributes sweets to all our employees, and then we take a moment to listen to India’s national anthem. It’s also not uncommon to see employees come to work in their finest Indian ethnic wear. Because we play to win or don’t play here at McAfee, we’ve also added a fun competition to the celebrations this year. The competition involves our teams hosting a mock political campaign where the leader must work for votes by walking the aisles and campaigning using party anthems and symbols. The leader with the most votes in the end is crowned the winner. Needless to say, this will be a good bit of fun! These types of celebrations and traditions bring back many great memories of how I celebrated Republic Day as a child.
Celebrating the Republic Day of India
As a kid, I remember celebrating Republic Day in school. Being an army officer’s daughter, I am proud to celebrate this day and create memories with friends and families. In the army, all the officers spent the day with their soldiers and honor them for their bravery and integrity. This is followed by flag hosting, speeches and dining together.
At school, students dress in the colors of the house that they belonged to, carrying the feeling of holding the honor and integrity of the nation. I fondly remember having to be punctual and arriving at school to get started with the celebrations.
I remember the school buildings being thoughtfully decorated with flowers, buntings, pictures of heroes of the freedom movement and national flags. Sweets were distributed, a dais was raised, and loud speakers were fitted. All of this was followed by a march featuring the students, cadets, and house captains who saluted the Indian flag as they marched ahead. The school principal or the chief guest unfurled the national flag, followed by the choir singing the national anthem while all the other students joined them.
At night, the whole school was illuminated and tricolors fluttered proudly on the building. It was a sight to see! In fact, it was a day of rejoicing and merry-making that still lives with me today.
I am thankful to work for a company that honors our Indian traditions and the traditions of our diverse employee population all around the world. Being able to recognize this special day with my coworkers just like I did many years ago as a child means so much to me.
For more stories like Smriti’s follow @LifeAtMcAfee on Instagram and on Twitter @McAfee to see what working at McAfee is all about.
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