Nathalie Stokes is the founder and brains behind the "cultural calendar". 

After spending most of her life as an expat and being exposed to different countries and cultures by living within them, when she returned to Canada she found a large discrepancy between which holidays were celebrated in the schools she worked in. During one of her internships, she was told that there was "no need" to teach about Chinese New Year as it was "only three students who celebrate[d] it". She had to jump through hoops to prove the value of educating our students about different holidays and the students who celebrated it were thrilled to be represented. 

Whilst teaching in international schools in Hanoi, Vietnam, it was clear that the only holidays that the students were exposed to were Anglo-Saxon holidays and the local holidays in Vietnam. If you research activities to do for holidays the vast majority will demonstrate Christmas, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and Valentine's Day. Though these are important and are celebrated around the world, it is Nathalie's goal to bridge the gap and provide a resource for teachers and beyond to involve the various cultures within their community in their practice.