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New York City will add Diwali to the list of public school holidays

Mayor Eric Adams stated Monday that Diwali will be added to the list of public school holidays in appreciation of the city’s growing South Asian and Indo-Caribbean cultures. Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, occurs in October or November, depending on the lunar calendar.

However, because it falls on Sunday, November 12, this year, the adjustment will have no effect on the 2023-2024 school calendar. According to city officials, more than 200,000 New Yorkers celebrate Diwali, which is honoured by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and some Buddhists. If Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signs a bill passed by the New York state senate earlier this month making Diwali a public school holiday in New York City, the new holiday will become official.

Adams, who campaigned on making Diwali a school holiday in 2021, said he expected Hochul to sign the measure. Hochul, who held a Diwali celebration last autumn, is studying all measures enacted by the legislature in 2023, according to the governor’s office. Last month, US Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat from the New York City borough of Queens, filed legislation to make Diwali a government holiday.

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