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Diwali has been declared as a school holiday in New York City by Mayor Eric Adams to honor the city’s South Asian, Indo-Caribbean, Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist communities.
According to ABC 7, Mayor Adams made the announcement on Monday at City Hall, surrounded by Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, the first Hindu American and first South Asian American woman elected to state office.
“Today we say to over 600,000 Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain Americans, we see you,” Rajkumar said.
“Today we say to families from India, Guyana, Trinidad, Nepal, and Bangladesh, we recognise you.”
Taking to Twitter later in the day, Adams said: “I’m so proud to have stood with Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar and community leaders in the fight to make Diwali a school holiday.
“I know it’s a little early in the year, but: Shubh Diwali!”
The declaration comes after the New York State legislature passed a bill on June 9 to make Diwali a school holiday in the city.
Governor Kathy Hochul, on the other hand, has yet to sign the bill into law.
Two previous attempts to approve the legislation in 2021 and 2022 failed.
An estimated 200,000 children from these communities will be able to celebrate the festival of lights in their own way, without having to miss school.
Diwali will be celebrated on Sunday, November 12, 2023, making it a holiday for the first time in 2024.
The New York Department of Education announced four new days off during the 2023-24 school year, including April 1, the day after Easter, April 29 and 30, the two days of Passover, and June 17 for Eid.
Source:IANS
