Holiday traditions at Horizontal

by Horizontal Team 12/23/2019

To celebrate the holidays and ring in the New Year, we asked the Horizontal team across the globe to share their favorite seasonal traditions—from quirky to crafty to tasty. Here's a few of our favorites.Ashley Dodge, VP, Global Marketing

For my entire life, my family has always made the same meal for Christmas morning breakfast:

    • Sour cream coffee cake
    • Egg casserole
    • Christmas fruit salad (apples, oranges and bananas with a little sugar and lemon)

 The first year my husband and I were married, imagine our surprise when we realized our families have the exact same Christmas morning menu! It is hands down my favorite meal. And yes, it is only enjoyed once a year. Harish Kumar, Email Marketing Specialist:For Christmas and New Year, we go to church, decorate Christmas trees, eat cakes, give gifts to our loved ones and play Secret Santa in the office. But we have a much bigger celebration for Makar Sankranti (January 15, 2020).

In India, this day marks the end of the winter solstice and the beginning of warmer, longer days.Makar Sankranti is a harvest day for farmers. We make a special sweet dish called Pongal (made of rice, cane sugar, moong dal, ghee, cashews and raisins), and we offer this to the sun god and the rain for giving the harvest (we worship nature). We also prepare boiled groundnut and flat beans to help our skin retain moisture in the dry winter months.We decorate cows and bulls and jump over the fire with them. This is a traditional way to get rid of bacteria, mites and flies and make cows immune to diseases. We also eat sugarcane, fly kites and play Gillidanda (similar to baseball and cricket). Joey Olson, Salesforce Cross-Cloud ConsultantEvery year, my uncle Jim gives us presents with mysterious coded messages on them. Each code is a cypher for the name of gift recipient—you can’t open your present until you solve the code (For example: green triangle, red square, etc.). Many times the codes are more exciting than the presents themselves. Matthew Wash, Lead Salesforce ConsultantMy family does a "Make it or bake it" tradition, where we exchange handmade crafts or homemade treats. The Washes are very crafty! Some examples:

  • Pure beeswax candles
  • Bath soap
  • Lavender/Eucalyptus room spray
  • English Toffee
  • Lip Balm
  • Hand Salve
  • Scented candles
  • Bread, cookies, bars

 Jack Andrew, Business Development RepresentativeMy family does an unusual tradition called the Christmas Pickle. We hide a pickle ornament somewhere on the Christmas tree, and the person who finds it gets to open the first gift. Jack Boris, User Experience DesignerI like to do the Christmas Pickle tradition with a real pickle. They shrivel up after a week, and they stink real bad—which helps people eventually find them. Courtney Algeo, Marketing ManagerOn New Year's Eve, after my kids go to sleep, my husband and I get Red Lobster delivered and we watch horror movies.