Bill passed to officially make Diwali an NYC school holiday

NEW YORK (PIX11) ---  Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, will officially be a New York City school holiday this fall, according to Mayor Eric Adams.

While the exact date has not been set, the holiday is usually celebrated in the fall. Diwali is a five-day festival celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. It is considered India's biggest holiday of the year.

"This holiday means so much to the community," Adams said during a press conference Monday. "It's something we believed we could get done."

Lawmakers recently passed a bill making Diwali a public school holiday. The bill still has to be signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The mayor previously vowed that Diwali would become a public school holiday during his time in office. However, that didn’t come to fruition for the 2022-23 school year.

"This is a victory not only for the men and women of the Indian community and all communities who celebrate Diwali, but it is a victory for New York," Adams said.

There are approximately 845,000 members of the Asian and Pacific Islander community living in New York City, according to 2019 demographic data. Most of the city's Indian population resides in Queens.

“Just as the Diwali holiday symbolizes, light has prevailed once again for thousands of Sikh, Hindu, Jain and Buddhist residents across Queens. Forcing families to choose between the education of their children and the practice of their faith as a unit is far from just, but I couldn’t be happier for all our Diwali-celebrating neighbors who will never again have to make that choice,” Borough President Donovan Richards said.