Asian Lunar New Year is now a holiday for all public schools in New York after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the legislation into law.
It comes after U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, of Queens, introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would make Lunar New Year a federal holiday as well. A number of legislators from the New York area co-sponsored the bill, which had 44 co-sponsors, as did members of Congress from across the country.
No Republicans signed on to back the measure, however. "It was an honor to join Governor Hochul as she signed this historic bill and I applaud her for making it the law of the land in our state. When I was in the State Assembly in 2009, I led the bill to establish a New York City school holiday for Lunar New Year, and I remember how people laughed at it," Meng said in a statement."There were so many naysayers who told me that it would never happen. Now, look at how far we have come.Meng, who represents portions of Queens, has previously introduced resolutions in the House recognizing and offering well-wishes for the holiday, but without the step of a bill making it a federal day off. As a state legislator, she pushed for New York City schools to be closed for the holiday, which is now a reality. In the city, Mayor Eric Adams announced earlier in the summer that the festival of Diwali would be added to the list of holidays for public schools in recognition of the growth of the city's South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities. Gov. Hochul signed the bill putting it into effect in late June. Diwali, known as the festival of lights, happens October or November, depending on the lunar calendar. However, this year it falls on Sunday Nov. 12 — meaning the 2023-2024 school calendar will not be affected by the change. City officials say more that 200,000 New York City residents celebrate Diwali, which is observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists. The push for official recognition of Diwali comes as South Asians have gained numbers and clout in New York and nationally. The population of NYC residents categorized as Asian Indian by the Census Bureau has more than doubled in the last three decades, from 94,000 in 1990 to about 213,000 in the 2021 American Community Survey.
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