Now that the mayor has added Muslim holidays Eid al-Adha and al-Fitr to the NYC public school schedule, parents are pushing the city to include the Lunar New Year as well.
Lawmakers have been asking the city to add the Lunar New Year to the calendar for years, and in December Governor Cuomo signed a bill permitting state schools to close on the holiday, in addition to other religious or cultural holidays.
Mayor de Blasio added Eid al-Adha and al-Fitr to the schedule last week, and now an advocate group called the Korean-American Parent Association of Greater New York is pushing for the Lunar New Year to get its day on the calendar. "I want my children — young generation — to be Korean-American, not just American," one group member told CBS 2 this week. Another said, “Last week [de Blasio] announced that he would be closing schools for two Muslim holidays and excluded Lunar New Year. This is clear discrimination."
In addition the the parent group, eighteen legislators have petitioned the mayor to include the holiday. The mayor says he's working with school officials to replan the calendar. "We remain focused on it, but it will take more work," he said this week. The Lunar New Year falls on February 8th next year.
