USA-NEW YORK/SCHOOLS NYC mayor makes Lunar New Year official school holiday

Record ID: 152059

  • Title: USA-NEW YORK/SCHOOLS NYC mayor makes Lunar New Year official school holiday
  • Date: 23rd June 2015
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF DRAGON DANCE
  • Embargoed: 8th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA6LPXIPUGIYMDXACOH7BBPZLX6
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: New York City will add the Lunar New Year to its public school calendars, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday (June 23).
    "Today, we say yes to Lunar New Year as a school holiday in New York City," he said at a New York City public school on Tuesday (June 23).
    Starting next February, New York City's 1.1 million students in the nation's biggest public school system will get a day off.
    "We believe in celebrating this multicultural city and in this case, starting on Feb. 8, 2016, we will celebrate Lunar New York, we will become only the second major U.S. city to add Lunar New Year to our calendar and we're proud of that fact."
    San Francisco is the other city to have Lunar New Year as an official school holiday.
    Before the rule change, New York students took absences from school on the day but would miss the day's instruction, including possible exams or projects.
    More than 75,000 Asian American students make up the New York City public school system.
    Congresswoman Grace Meng said the move to make the day an official school holiday was the right decision.
    "Asian American students should not be forced to choose between celebrating with family or missing school," she said.
    Assemblyman Ron Kim said the holiday was not just about kids getting a day off from school.
    "It's about the city of New York telling hundreds of thousands of Asian Americans that their culture and heritage is part of the American fabric," he said.
    The date of the holiday, which is based on the lunar calendar, will change slightly each year.
    The mayor's announcement comes on the heels of the addition of two Muslim holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, to New York City public school calendars starting next fall.
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