What did you do on Christmas Day in 2006?

Did you welcome your freight forwarder into your home and invite him to eat turkey with your grandparents? It’s unlikely. As a culture, us Brits are not quite that friendly. But that’s not the case everywhere. 

November 6th, twenty years ago, I found myself over in India visiting some of my partners and suppliers in Delhi. Now, I was a little greener around the gills back then, so I had slightly overlooked that my visit coincided with the biggest celebration in that part of the world, Diwali. For those of you who are not familiar, Diwali is the Hindu festival of light. Celebrated by over a billion people around the world, it’s one of the biggest festivals in the world. They decorate their homes, light clay oil lamps, share feasts and have incredible firework displays. It’s a big deal in India. Like, as big a deal as Christmas is here in the UK. 

So you can imagine my discomfort when I realised I’d travelled halfway around the world to visit people on the equivalent of their Christmas Day. So what did they do? Turn me away? Tell me to come back after the celebrations were over? Of course not. They invited me into their homes, fed me, and welcomed me into their family celebrations. Honestly, I’ve never felt so humbled and welcomed. 

It does make me think, would that happen here in the UK? I very much doubt it. As a culture, we’re known for a lot of things, being polite and reserved, cream teas, the Royal Family, pasties… But are we known for being kind, open and welcoming? I don’t think so. I mean, could you imagine welcoming a supplier into your family for Christmas? Sitting them next to Great Aunt Doris and feeding them Christmas turkey? It just wouldn’t happen. Maybe we should give that some thought. 

For me, one of my core memories is sitting in that partner’s living room on Diwali, watching the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, with a full belly, feeling a little confused as to how I ended up there, but very blessed. Now, I’m not suggesting that you should start inviting your business associates to Christmas, but I’m sure we could all be a little more welcoming and a little friendlier. And you never know, you might just make some friends or build your network along the way too. 

So how about you? Do you have any tales of kind people in surprising places? I’d love to hear them.