Lunar New Year school holiday in Quincy? Some say it's time
QUINCY - There's a push to recognize Lunar New Year as a holiday for Quincy public schools.
It's one of the most important holidays for many Asian families, observed in late January through February.
"Lunar New Year is a very big celebration for not just Chinese, but also Vietnamese, for Koreans and even some Japanese celebrate Lunar New Year," Quincy parent Grace Young-Jae told WBZ-TV.
Quincy has one of the highest Asian populations in Massachusetts. Asians make up 30-percent of the city's population, according to U.S. Census data.
North Quincy High School junior Angela Chen started the petition, which now has more than one-thousand online signatures.
"As a student, I believe Quincy should recognize it to embody diversity and inclusion," she told WBZ. "This is one of the only times that distant families along with close families can gather around together because most of the time, a lot of family members are working and they don't really have a specific holiday just designated to celebrate."
While Americans celebrate the new year with a ball drop and resolutions, many Asian cultures follow the lunar calendar, wishing relatives and friends good luck and health in the year to come.
"Growing up, the kids - it's like Halloween. You're getting not just candy, you're getting money," said Young-Jae. "They're all in these red envelopes. It's just a great time to collect and meet people. The elders, your relatives, your uncles, your aunties."
The money symbolizes prosperity and good fortune.
A Quincy school sub-committee is looking into the initiative. Their vice chair Frank Santoro supports the cause.
"Giving somebody another day off during the year means we have to make that up at the end of the year, so there's probably a lot of people who don't want to support this," he told WBZ.
But despite failed attempts in the past, Santoro thinks his colleagues should approve the measure.
"It's time that we show as a school committee we support the heritage that they hold," he said.
Boston and Brookline schools have approved similar measures.
