[Red Lantern. Photo Credit to Pixabay]

On June 10th, 2023, the New York State Assembly unanimously passed a bill to acknowledge the Lunar New Year as a public school holiday. 

Bill S7573 would require all public schools in New York to close on the holiday. 

Since New York is home to many citizens from different cultures, it is important to recognize and celebrate those individuals. 

Many lawmakers recognized this opportunity. 

In fact, the bill was passed with no opposition in a vote of 62-0.

However, there were some challenges while the lawmakers were debating. 

The largest difficulty was that lawmakers had different opinions on whether to make the bill statewide or only within New York City.

Ultimately, it was decided to be a statewide law and was proposed to the State Assembly. 

The bill passed approval from the State Assembly and would have been applied beginning from July 1st if approved by the governor, Kathy Hochul.

However, the governor has not approved the bill yet, even after the deadline passed, leaving many wondering whether it will be an official holiday by next year. 

“I’m proud New York State is providing the time needed for students and their families to honor and celebrate Lunar New Year,” said Carl Heastie.

Carl Heastie is the Assemblyman who first proposed making the Lunar New Year a public school holiday.

Lunar New Year is particularly celebrated by Asian countries, similar to the more Western New Year’s Day. 

This is often celebrated around late January to early February.

There is no exact date for the Lunar New Year because it is celebrated according to the lunar calendar on the first new moon following the lunar cycle. 

In 2023, the celebration was held on January 22.

Even though many Asian countries have their own traditional way of celebrating their Lunar New Year, it is common to focus on the values and importance of family, which is why relatives gather during the Lunar New Year holidays.

Now, New Yorkers from various backgrounds will be able to see and celebrate with these various cultures during the Lunar New Year. 

Celebrating Lunar New Year involves various traditions and customs that differ from country to country. 

Things New Yorkers can look forward to now during this time of celebration are many festivals, such as the Lantern Festival in China, or different foods, like the Korean tteokguk.

Traditionally, in Korea, the Lunar New Year is meant to be a time to honor the ancestors and visit elders in their hometown during this period of celebration.

By means of respecting the elders, children or the young generation bow to them. 

Koreans wear traditional clothes called ‘hanbok’ while they bow and receive money from the elders. 

Koreans also eat a rice cake soup, tteokguk, which carries the meaning of getting older. 

On the other hand, China, the country most known for its big Lunar New Year festivals, has slight similarities with Korea’s Lunar New Year celebration, such as honoring the ancestors, but it is not quite the same.

Similar to Korean culture, China has its traditional Lunar New Year food, “Nian Gao”, a cake with the distinct meaning of growing taller.

While Korea doesn’t have any legend behind the celebration, the Chinese believe in a historical legend that has been passed down through generations, a legend of a threatening Dragon named “Nian”.

Based on the legend, people had to wear red clothes and use bright and loud fireworks to ward off the dragon, and this tradition continued to the present day. 

For New York to celebrate Lunar New Year and experience cultural diversity, the bill has to be approved by the governor by next year.