Social media has become one of the primary ways we connect with others, as well as giving us tiny windows into new places and cultures. It can be fun to spend an afternoon watching videos of strangers strolling in a foreign marketplace or see curated snapshots of a mountain sunset halfway around the world. Not all countries, however, share the same view of social media. Some, like China, are well-known for their strict internet censorship. Other places, however, may surprise you. For example, did you know that Germany once considered banning Facebook Events? Or that YouTube was banned for nine years in Pakistan, and is still banned in Eritrea?

In most cases, these bans are limited to government workers due to data privacy concerns, but more and more governments are looking into restrictions on who can use social media, and when. Laws are being introduced to keep minors off apps in many countries, citing the negative effects of constant image consumption and potential for bullying. In one of the most surprising new cases, the entire state of Montana in the United States banned TikTok in 2023. Even in countries that don’t legally limit social media, there may be other restrictions, such as a tax for access in Uganda.

Before you send employees on assignment, or take on one yourself, make sure there aren’t any issues with censorship, particularly if your company culture relies on any kind of social media. Even Slack may not operate everywhere, as seen in 2018 when users lost access after visiting places such as Cuba and Syria.

Even if you scan social media to peruse global events, turn to Living Abroad for vetted information about daily life in more than 150 destinations. We touch on major censorship issues, and let you know the popular ways to keep in touch, be they Whatsapp or old-fashioned letters.

Written by Kate Havas, GMS-T, Content Manager

Travel schedules, business meetings, home-finding visits – all revolve around the local calendar in your host country. Assignees learn pretty quickly about unfamiliar holidays if they try to schedule something at the wrong time, or take a business trip only to find vacations have emptied the office.

National and religious holidays
Acquaint yourself with your destination country’s national holidays and any religious ones, including those that may span a number of days. This knowledge not only optimizes your schedule, it also helps you understand and invest in the local culture. You’ll be a part of it rather than being surprised by it.

Keep the standard dates in your calendar, noting holidays that are moveable, or which may fall on a weekend and so are observed on Monday or some other weekday.

Note any practices that affect daily life, such as fasting during Ramadan or store closures during certain observances. Being forewarned allows you to navigate your own needs while respecting your new community’s way of life.

Increased attention to employee wellbeing has led some merchants to voluntarily close during certain times. For example, the U.S. tradition of “Black Friday” shopping on the day after Thanksgiving reached a frenzy of midnight store openings and all-night sales, until some retailers cut back those hours to protect their workers’ option to celebrate and rest.

While not a holiday, in observance of the Sabbath every week, stores in Israel are closed from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday or Sunday morning. In general, a holiday in Israel begins at sundown the day before.

School holidays
In addition to national holidays that close businesses, one of the most important calendars in family life is that of your child’s school. Perhaps the school year itself is different from your home country experience.

Holidays throughout the school year are important to note – especially for elementary school children who will need someone home with them on those days – but the longer vacations have even more impact on a family’s schedule. They will determine childcare needs, family trips, and friends or family who are planning to visit you.

Celebrations old and new
Plan ways to keep your own family traditions even if they are not observed in your new location. Maybe you had standing date at home with another family for a Passover Seder, or an annual gathering with the whole family for Easter dinner. Marking these occasions without your usual tribe of loved ones can be dispiriting. Plan ahead and bring whatever decorations or special recipes from home that will bring the holiday to life in familiar ways.

Finding new ways to celebrate can make a holiday even more meaningful. Does your host country observe the holiday differently? Can you invite new friends to share your beloved family traditions? However you mark the day in this new location will become part of your family’s communal memory and a valuable experience for all.

Living Abroad’s International Relocation Center provides worldwide holiday information, as well as country-specific national holidays and festival events in every destination report.

Written by Ellen Harris, GMS, Product Manager, Content Group

Summer is a season of festivities, from national events to personal celebrations such as weddings. Your host country likely has its own wedding customs, and in one country a traditional wedding has become an important event for both preserving cultural heritage and tourism: North Macedonia’s Galičnik Wedding Festival.

While you can count the number of year-round residents of the village of Galičnik on one hand, the population swells in summer with tourists as well as family and friends celebrating a couple’s marriage. While traditionally a couple had to have some family connection to the village, today any North Macedonian couple can apply to take part. One couple is chosen among the many applicants to represent the country during the festival.

While the ceremonies used to last a week, now they have been compressed into a few days to make them easier for visitors to understand. Key events include the groom visiting the cemetery to invite dead relatives to the wedding, shaving the groom at the town fountain, an entourage of flag-bearers and horses parading to the bride’s house to officially ask for her hand, and the groom’s mother carrying a kettle to splash well-wishers on the way to the church. All participants wear the country’s traditional folk costumes, with the bride dressed in red, white, and gold. The men perform a traditional Teškoto dance.

Though the official festival only dates back to the last century, some of the traditions presented are hundreds of years old. Even the drum and oboe-like zula played are of Indian origin, which may date back to the era of Alexander the Great. This history led North Macedonia to apply for, and be granted, the protected status of Intangible Cultural Heritage for the ceremonies.

One of the most enjoyable parts of living in a new country is getting to know the local history and customs. Check out our new North Macedonia content for more about this unique Balkan country, and know that you can continue to rely on Living Abroad’s information for details about any of the more than one hundred and fifty countries covered in the IRC.

Written by Kate Havas, GMS-T, Content Manager

While recently talking to an Italian friend about summer, she recalled how as a child she loved playing in the fountains to celebrate the end of the school year, and the long family holidays in August. I shared my own memories: the crowded community pool and day camps, as my American parents didn’t get weeks of summer vacation.

Depending on the country you’re living in, the norm for how children will fill their summers differs. It can also open up logistical hassles, as parents working in international firms may not have holidays that line up with the host country norms.

Like me, many American kids only have short summer holidays with their parents, and then spend time at day camps, summer sleep-away camps, or with grandparents. French children may go on a weeks-long beach holiday with their parents, and Swedish children with working parents are entitled to a place in a government-sponsored leisure center called a fritidshem. Japanese students often don’t get much of a break if they are playing sports or aiming for a high-level university: summer is seen as extra hours for practice or cram school. The amount of time children have away from class also varies greatly, from three months in Italy to just under one in South Korea. For those whose districts have adopted year-round school, the break may be as little as two weeks!

Children of international families often use the vacation to spend valuable time in their family’s country of origin, which adds its own complications. Teens may prefer to spend their time off with school friends in the host destination rather than being taken on a family trip, and work schedules may mean the non-working spouse has to bear the brunt of the travel by taking the kids alone.

In all cases, the summer holiday will depend in large part on which school you select. It may follow the local school schedule, the schedule of the country whose curriculum has been adopted, or an alternate schedule, such as year-round or block term schooling. At Living Abroad, we offer a thorough rundown of local and private school options, with links that will guide you to homepages offering calendars of the school year and an overview of summer programs and obligations, so you aren’t caught off guard by too much or too little time. With a little knowledge and planning, summer can be an enriching time for all.

Written by Kate Havas, GMS-T, Content Manager