SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A local business owner is recognizing International Women’s Day a day early with a special giveaway.

Tulips are a sure sign of spring. But today, they’re serving a deeper purpose, celebrating a specific day on the calendar.

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“As many people know, tomorrow is International Women’s Day,” Thomas Faini said.

Faini is the CEO at Thomas James & Bechtold Jewelry, where they celebrate International Women’s Day each March by handing out flowers to women.

“My wife is from Poland and it’s very popular in the European countries,” Faini said. “Some of my employees are European and we got that from them as well, plus our company is actually dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary so we just thought it made sense to actually honor women on this day.”

“Very special holiday in my old country,” Mirko Spirich said.

Spirich is one of Faini’s employees, originally from the former Yugoslavia.

“Flowers everywhere, on the street, in the store, and it’s really, really nice,” Spirich said.

The tradition started locally in 2023, with Faini recruiting members of a USD fraternity to give away hundreds of tulips. Today, the college students helped hand out 500 tulips.

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“So, we get the tulips, we honor the women, we have the gentlemen pass them around and the ladies love it,” Faini said. “It’s just kind of a way of honoring women for all the contributions they do in our lives.”

“It’s really touching to just kind of make it a surprise flower. It’s so sweet to just be ‘oh, wow, thank you, that’s so sweet’,” Sioux Falls resident Elizabeth Zokaites said.

Zokaites says a lot of people may not be aware of International Women’s Day, make this a simple but important gesture.

“It also coincides with Women’s History Month, so I think it’s just such a sweet gesture,” Zokaites said.