Only 19% of US kids are aware of Diwali

How globally minded is Gen Alpha? Well thanks to our Omnibus tool, where we can speak to more than 2 million kids in the UK and US each month, we think very.

Although it may not be surprising that 67% of UK kids and teens 7-14 are aware of Thanksgiving – a third of UK kids now celebrate it.

Be that making a TikTok video or watching a new episode of their favourite sitcom, they are actively participating in the US holiday and it now ranks in the Top Ten of all celebrations for UK kids.

Despite living miles apart, UK and US kids’ celebrations calendars almost run in parallel. Alongside the mega Christmas and Halloween celebrations, an equal number on both sides of the Atlantic celebrate Mother’s Day (although in different months). 69% of UK kids are aware of Remembrance Sunday with just over half (53%) marking it and 70% of US kids are aware of Veterans Day with 43% honouring it.

But interestingly there are huge transatlantic differences when it comes non-Christian holidays. Only 19% of the US kids and teens aged 7-14 we surveyed were aware of Diwali, compared to nearly half (45%) in the UK.

It’s a similar story with Ramadan with just under a quarter (21%) of US 7-14s aware compared to 41% in the UK, and Eid with over a third (35%) aware in the UK vs 11% in the US. But the story switches with Hanukkah with over half of US kids and teens aware (51%) compared to only just under a third in the UK (29%)

We know from our conversations with kids, their awareness of different cultural celebrations is growing but there’s an interesting geographical divide between these two English-speaking nations who share so much.

For brands there’s a huge opportunity for them to play a role in these celebrations for Gen A and Gen Z who want to participate on a global stage. If you’d like to know more about what your brand could do, please get in touch and use our brain.