Warning to allinterested parties: August 15th is approaching. But what is really “August the15th“? In many ways, it is “that time of the summer“, when practically everyoneis on holiday. Shops are empty, and the few people who did not manage togo away will find city centres quite restful. Holiday resorts, on the other hand, arebustling with currents of activity. Writers, like me, find it hard to write, because aside from the drunken antics of holiday-goers, there is very little to write about.

And then ofcourse there is the holiday, the specific day when, across Europe, most peopledo not go to work: August 15th, which is known as the “Assumption of Mary" in Western Europe, and her "Dormition“ in the East. This day is a national holiday in Belgium, France, Greece, Ireland,Italy, Luxemburg, Austria, Poland and Portugal, and in some regions of Germany,Switzerland and Spain. Liechtenstein, of course, has an altogether differentreason to celebrate: this is the principality’s national day. On the whole, a day that seems to be  important across the european continent.

And yet allow usto note that, aside from a religious holiday, August 15th is a fact of life and acultural given. But it is also an example.

In communicationterms, whether one does or does not celebrate the 15^th of Augustmatters little; what does matter is how the existence of this holiday, and any holiday, can impacton the functioning of a business. Of course this year, August 15th falls on a Sunday, andthus its consequences will be inexistant. But on other years, much will revolvearound it: who will go on holiday to gain an extra day away, how to shift work so it is done by thedeadline and how to adjust to having customers in a different country, who donot have this day off, and will expect some service.

At the individual level, one celebrates for reasons that are personal: either something related to one’s familygroup, one’s religious persuasion, or one’s socio-ethnic origin. The decisionto celebrate something is therefore, in some ways integral to their characterand choices. Thus, respecting or disrespecting a person’s holiday has vast implications for the way one will market themselves to others;it will have implications in the dynamics of a team, and may even become thesource of conflict. Which is why communicating the existence of a holiday andthe need to respect it is something that I, as a writer take seriously.

Therefore, Iwould like to wish all who celebrate it a happy Assumption, and to all Liechtensteiners,a most cheerful national holiday.