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Asians celebrate first Lunar New Year school holiday

By Madina Toure

Community leaders said the new Lunar New Year school holiday, which shuttered public classrooms Monday, will help educate the public about a key Asian celebration.

The last time Lunar New Year fell on a weekday, in 2012, about 15 percent of the public school student population missed school, or 146,434 students, according to Public Advocate Letitia James, who held a news conference commemorating the occasion Friday.

The Year of the Monkey started Monday, the first day of the first Chinese lunar month. Festivities last 15 days.

That year, 62 schools recorded their lowest attendance of the year on that day, including 16 schools in Queens, James said.

“This victory did not happen by itself and did not happen overnight,” she said at the Queens Library in Flushing. “It was a long struggle.”

Christopher Kui, executive director of Asian Americans for Equality, said the school holiday is indicative of the community’s growth.

“I think this is something that has come and shown that our community has come of age,” Kui said.

Michelle Wang, president of the New York chapter of the Asian Pacific-Islander American Public Affairs Association, said the holiday remains an important part of the Asian community’s cultural heritage.

“The kids didn’t have to make the choice: either go to school or go to the celebration,” Wang said.

In June 2015, New York City announced that public schools would now be closed on Lunar New Year and added it to the official list of public school holidays. Lunar New Year joins the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr as the most recent additions to the list.

Mitchel Wu, program manager for the Coalition for Asian American Children & Families, echoed similar sentiments, also acknowledging the Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha holidays.

“Not only are we vast, we are also very diverse,” Wu said.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), City Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) and state Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) had tried to get the school holiday on the calendar under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration.

In December 2014, a law sponsored by Kim and state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) was passed requiring school boards to consider closing schools on days with large student absenteeism due to religious or cultural observances such as Lunar New Year and Diwali.

On the first day of the celebration, New York Assembly members, including Kim and state Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) Monday passed a resolution acknowledging the Year of the Monkey at the state Capitol.

Rozic also participated, along with Meng and state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows), in a ceremony unveiling the U.S. Postal Service Commemorative Forever Stamp, which honors the Year of the Monkey.

Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtoure@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.