Lunar New Year will soon be a school holiday in New York City


In 2016, New York City students will have the opportunity to celebrate another official holiday with a day off from school: Lunar New Year.
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted Monday that the school system will recognize the Lunar New Year beginning next year, NBC New York reports. The mayor is expected to officially announce the decision on Tuesday. Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian communities, and one-sixth of the 1.1 million public school students in the city are of Asian descent. Earlier this year, de Blasio said schools would also honor the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Firt and Eid al-Adha.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
ICE agents take down Lady Justice | June 21 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include ICE, Donald Trump as a lion tamer, and ordering from the Bible
-
5 editorial cartoons about ICE raids
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on ICE raids, harvesting Big Macs for Donald Trump, and what to do when Stephen Miller shows up at the front door
-
Grilled radicchio with caper and anchovy sauce recipe
The Week Recommends Smoky twist on classic Italian flavours is perfect to grill, drizzle and devour
-
Supreme Court may bless church-run charter schools
Speed Read The case is 'one of the biggest on church and state in a generation'
-
Harvard sues Trump over frozen grant money
Speed Read The Trump administration withheld $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts after Harvard rejected its demands
-
Harvard loses $2.3B after rejecting Trump demands
speed read The university denied the Trump administration's request for oversight and internal policy changes
-
USC under fire for canceling valedictorian speech
Speed Read Citing safety concerns, the university canceled a pro-Palestinian student's speech
-
Florida teachers can 'say gay' under settlement
speed read The state reached a settlement with challengers of the 2022 "Don't Say Gay" education law
-
Biden administration to forgive $39B in student loan debt for 800K borrowers
Speed Read
-
Advocacy groups challenge Harvard's legacy admissions policy
Speed Read
-
2 Michigan school districts ban backpacks after confiscating 4th gun this year
Speed Read