In a US First, State Shuts Schools for Lunar New Year

The Year of the Snake is fast approaching in Asian culture, and kids in one US state will now be able to celebrate it with their families, friends, and neighbors at home instead of while stuck in the classroom. NBC News reports that New York will become the first state to close its public schools on Jan. 29 (a Wednesday) for the start of the Lunar New Year, widely considered the most important holiday of the year for the communities that celebrate. In September 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the law making the Lunar New Year a public school holiday, but last year's kickoff day for the more than two weeks of festivities fell on a Saturday, so it didn't affect school schedules.

"Recognizing Lunar New Year as a statewide holiday is sending a message to Asian Americans, and to all New Yorkers, that Asian Americans are New Yorkers, and that we belong here," said New York Assemblymember Grace Lee, who spearheaded the efforts to pass the bill, per NBC. "I think it's also a recognition for the many contributions that Asian Americans have made to New York's history in the nearly 200 years since we've been here." New York's Asian American population is the most rapidly growing demographic in the Empire State, with about 10% of students counting themselves among the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander communities, per recent public-school enrollment stats.

As schools across the state prep for the holiday, some have hit minor bumps. Rochester First reports, for instance, that the Rochester City School District originally gave only students Jan. 29 off from school, mandating that staff still had to come in for "development" purposes. However, the district has since done a 180 on that—on Tuesday, its interim superintendent announced that staff would also be getting the day off, noting, "This shift aligns with most Monroe County school calendars." He added that "it also gives us the opportunity to celebrate the rich cultural diversity within our community." In New York state yourself? Here are 15 ways to celebrate the holiday. Lonely Planet, meanwhile, offers up the US cities where Lunar New Year will see an especially vibrant presence. (More Lunar New Year stories.)