New York City schools to make Diwali an official holiday

Schools in New York City will declare a holiday on Diwali for students to celebrate the festival along with their families. In a post on Twitter, Councilwomen Linda Lee said that a resolution was passed supporting Diwali as a school holiday for students. Another post was shared by New York state Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar on the microblogging site. Linda Lee took to Twitter and announced that they have passed a "historic" resolution calling on New York City schools to declare a school holiday on Diwali.

She shared a video calling on the Department of Education to recognise Diwali as an official holiday for students in New York. Lee wrote, "We can't fully appreciate #NYC's great diversity of culture when one-fifth of our students must choose between attending class and celebrating traditions with family. Today we passed a historic resolution to call on @NYCSchools to make Diwali an official school holiday!"

Rajkumar tweeted, "BREAKING: People's champion @CMLindaLee passes a resolution supporting the Diwali School Holiday & speaks in support of our Diwali bill A.628."

In October 2022,,Diwali was celebrated with muich fervour by the Indian Diapora in New York city. Diwali, the festival of lights symbolises the triumph over darkness.

Celebrated across South Asia in some fashion by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists, the multi-day festival has secured a sturdy foothold far from the subcontinent in places with significant diaspora populations — like New York.

Five miles east of the five-star hotel, those already familiar with the holiday were embarking on preparations for their personal celebrations. The first of the five-day celebration, the streets of Jackson Heights were replete with reminders of the festivities.

(With inputs from agencies)