UN Declares Lunar New Year A Recognized Holiday

The Lunar New Year has been officially listed as a United Nations (UN) floating holiday in its calendar of conferences and meetings as from 2024.

The UN General Assembly, in a resolution, acknowledges the significance of the Lunar New Year, which is observed in many UN member states, and invites the UN bodies at headquarters and other duty stations, where observed, to avoid holding meetings on the Lunar New Year.

United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The resolution, adopted on December 22, without a vote, encourages this arrangement to be taken into account when drafting future calendars of conferences and meetings.

The decision marks the Lunar New Year becoming the eighth floating holiday observed by UN staff worldwide, together with Yom Kippur, Vesak Day, Diwali, Gurpurab, Orthodox Christmas, Orthodox Good Friday and Nowruz.

Besides Vietnam, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Canada, Suriname, and some states in the US, including California and New York, officially celebrate the Lunar New Year as a public holiday.

The Lunar New Year festival or Tet is the largest Vietnamese traditional celebration and has been since ancient times. It is not only a spiritual event that marks the change from one year to the next, but it also embodies the national culture of the country by reflecting the values and beliefs of Vietnamese people.

Vietnamese people believe that Tet marks the beginning of a new year, a day of hope and belief in new and good things and a farewell to the old.

The upcomoing Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday will last seven days from February 8 to 14, 2024, per an official document approved by Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

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