Important Dates: Plan Your Holiday Promotions for Spring/Summer 2023

[Helen]

With unprecedented snow and rain across the U.S. and cold snaps sweeping over Europe, it has been a long winter for the northern hemisphere. However, things will soon start to look up — the first official day of spring in 2023 was March 20. Below we’re sharing details of the holidays for spring/summer 2023, so get your diaries out and start planning. ✍️

For many businesses, holidays are also an opportunity to connect with customers and increase sales. You can use holidays to:

• Engage with your customers on social media over a common theme while broadening your brand awareness
• Encourage customers to visit your store or site to buy limited-time items or try special menu items
• Meet your customers’ needs — gift ideas for moms, dads, and vacation essentials, to name a few 
• Plan staff schedules — manage team members to accommodate footfall/customer demand

If there is a local or national holiday or event that your community celebrates every spring and summer, let us know in the comments below. 

Trivia question: Which holiday in the list below is the oldest holiday? We’ll share the answer on 13th of April!

Important dates for Spring/Summer 2023

Where?	Holiday Details - Name, Date and Description
🌐	International Women’s Day 💟 Wednesday, March 8, 2023  Register to receive a recording of the recent Community event: Block Celebrates Square Women in Business.
🇮🇪	St Patrick’s Day ☘️ Friday, March 17, 2023  A public holiday in Ireland. A great day everywhere. 😀Fun fact: The first recorded St Patrick’s Day parade was in 1601 in Florida.
🇬🇧🇮🇪	Mother’s Day in the UK and Ireland 💐 Sunday, March 19, 2023  Each year billions of pounds are spent in the UK for Mother’s Day. Not to be missed! (Your mother will appreciate it too.)
🌐	Spring Equinox 🌼  Monday, March 20, 2023  Time to pack up hats, gloves, and scarves (hopefully).
🇯🇵	Golden Week  Saturday, April 29 to Friday, May 5, 2023 Four public holidays in one week!
🇯🇵	Cherry Blossom Season 🌸 March–April 2023 An ancient festival that celebrates spring. Learn more about cherry blossom season.
🇺🇸🇨🇦🇦🇺🇮🇪🇬🇧🇯🇵	Earth Day 🌍  Saturday, April 22, 2023  This day marks the “birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.”
🌐	World Health Day 🧘  Friday, April 7, 2023 This is the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) and aims to bring “attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world”.
🇺🇸🇨🇦🇦🇺🇯🇵	Mother’s Day in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Japan 💐 Sunday, May 14, 2023 Your opportunity to spoil your mom. If you’re in the UK or Ireland, you could spoil her again.
🇺🇸	Memorial Day  Monday, May 29, 2023 A public holiday in the U.S., always the last Monday of May. A day to remember members of the U.S. military who died in service.
🇮🇪🇬🇧	Spring Bank Holidays in the UK and Ireland UK: Monday, May 29, 2023; Ireland: Monday June 5, 2023
🇺🇸🇨🇦🇦🇺🇮🇪🇬🇧	Father’s Day 🎉 Sunday, June 18, 2023 A day for all the dads (and fans of the ‘dad joke’) out there.
🇺🇸	Juneteenth  Monday, June 19, 2023 A relatively new federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. People mark the day with events that include parties and parades. Keep in mind, this day is not a day off in all states.
🌐	Summer Solstice 🌅 Wednesday, June 21, 2023 The start of summer. 🎉 🎉 🎉
🇺🇸	National Ice Cream Day 🍨  Sunday, July 16, 2023  Don’t walk — run — to your local ice cream store.
🇺🇸	Independence Day 🎆 Tuesday, July 4, 2023  A holiday in all U.S. states.
🇺🇸	Labor Day  Monday, September 4, 2023 🌇 Labor Day has been a nationwide holiday since 1894.

[#2]

Update:  The oldest holiday in the list I shared above is Cherry Blossom viewing in Japan. This practice, also known as hanami is believed to have started over 1300 years ago! 🌸

[JUYBoutique20]

Thanks so much for this list....

[Helen]

No problem! Are there any holidays or events coming up that you're looking forward to?  

[mksavage]

Oooh, helpful! Thank you @Helen !

[Helen]

Of course! Glad it's helpful! 

[Helen]

Update:  The oldest holiday in the list I shared above is Cherry Blossom viewing in Japan. This practice, also known as hanami is believed to have started over 1300 years ago! 🌸

[davidwarner]

Sure, here are some important dates to keep in mind when planning your holiday promotions for Spring/Summer 2023:

1. Mother's Day - May 14th, 2023
2. Memorial Day - May 29th, 2023
3. Father's Day - June 18th, 2023
4. Independence Day - July 4th, 2023
5. Back-to-School season - August/September 2023 (exact dates may vary)

For Mother's Day, you can promote gift items such as flowers, jewelry, and spa treatments. For Memorial Day and Independence Day, you can offer discounts on patriotic-themed items such as flags, decorations, and apparel. For Father's Day, consider promoting gifts such as tech gadgets, outdoor equipment, and sports gear. And for the back-to-school season, you can offer promotions on school supplies, backpacks, and electronics.

Remember to plan your promotions well in advance to ensure you have enough inventory and time to advertise your deals. Good luck with your holiday promotions......

[Doran]

What a great list.  Thanks!