Diwali, the most important Indian festival celebrated by Hindus as well as by many Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists will now be a holiday in the largest public school system in America.
Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, has been added to the cultural-religious public school holidays such as Christmas, Rosh Hashana, and Eid in New York City, honoring the multicultural mix of the population.
Diwali is one of the most significant Hindu religious observances and is also celebrated by many Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. For India, it is like Christmas and New Year being celebrated together.
When I interviewed Eric Adams in 2020 for The South Asian Times before the mayoral election, he committed to recognizing the Diwali holiday in the largest public school system in the country. But on taking over as city mayor, he looked to New York state lawmakers who had introduced a bill to the effect two years ago. They passed it recently. Announcing the holiday on June 26, Mayor Adams said that the moment represented a symbolic declaration to those who feel unwelcome “that you are part of this city and not considered an outsider.” He added, “We’re now saying New York is made for everyone, no matter where you came from.”
with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,800 schools.
The mayor said he was confident that the state governor, Kathy Hochul, would sign the bill recognizing the Diwali holiday for the entire state. A spokesperson for Hochul’s office told The New York Times that the governor is still reviewing the bill, adding that she has supported other efforts to recognize Diwali.
Diwali – which celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil – is observed by two hundred thousand New Yorkers, according to city officials. South Asian and Indo-Caribbean parents and advocates had lobbied for years for the city’s public schools to let the holiday join existing religious holidays.
Diwali falls in October or November, depending on the lunar calendar. This year it falls on November 12, a Sunday, meaning the 2023-2024 school calendar will not be affected by the change.
While Indian American Assemblywoman Jennifer Rajkumar was among those lawmakers who played a key role in securing a Diwali holiday in New York, Representative Grace Meng, a Queens Democrat, introduced legislation in May in Congress that would make Diwali a federal holiday. Doing so, she said, would “demonstrate that the government values the diverse cultural makeup of the nation.”
In New York, the biggest celebration of Diwali is at South St Seaport in the first week of October, organized by AIA (Association of Indians in America) every year for three decades. For some years now, Times Square also sees a Diwali celebration.
Significantly, Diwali was honored with a postal stamp by USPS in 2016 after a sustained campaign by Indian American Ranju Batra, supported by then Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.
