New York becomes the first state to close schools for Lunar New Year

People attend the annual Lunar New Year parade in New York City's Chinatown on Feb. 25, 2024. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Public schools in New York are closed Wednesday to mark the start of the Lunar New Year.

It's the first time students in New York will have the day off for Lunar New Year since a new state law was signed in 2023. Last year, the holiday fell on a Saturday.

"For too long, our AAPI community had to celebrate after work or school," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. "That's why we made it a school holiday – and this year marks the first time students will have it off!"

Hochul signed legislation declaring Asian Lunar New Year a statewide public school holiday in 2023, and lawmakers said at the time that it was the first state to do so.

On Wednesday, some of the state legislators who helped get the measure passed celebrated.

"Students across the state will be able to celebrate the holiday with their families without missing school," New York Assemblymember Grace Lee said in a post on Instagram. "Passing this bill was deeply personal to me and I'm grateful to be able to celebrate with community members who fought to make it happen."

On the lunisolar calendar, the Lunar New Year begins with the new moon closest to the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, according to National Geographic. The beginning of the new year generally falls between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20.

It's one of the most important holidays in several Asian cultures and is celebrated widely in countries such as China, Vietnam, Korea, Malaysia and among the Asian diaspora worldwide. This year is the Year of the Snake.

In the U.S., some local public school districts closed in honor of Lunar New Year include Philadelphia and San Francisco, while others such as Orange County are choosing to mark the occasion with in-school celebrations.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., who advocated for the school holiday when she was a member of the New York State Assembly, has introduced a bill to make Lunar New Year a federal holiday.