California took an important step last year when it recognized Lunar New Year as an official holiday. Now, one Santa Clara County agency is giving it the same treatment at the local level.
The Valley Water board of directors unanimously voted last week to recognize Lunar New Year as a paid holiday. The move goes beyond celebrating the holiday and highlights the contributions of local Asian Americans, officials and Asian community leaders said.
“The Asian community and residents helped build the foundation of Santa Clara County,” Richard Santos, a Valley Water board member, told San José Spotlight. “This is celebrated all over the world, and we’re just joining everyone else.”
The passage of California Assembly Bill 2596 last September officially designated Lunar New Year as a state holiday. The holiday is celebrated over the course of several days, with the first day usually falling in late January or early February. Valley Water would give employees the day off on the first day of Lunar New Year.
Santos said Valley Water’s decision to recognize the holiday reflects the efforts of employees who advocated for the change. About 24% of the agency’s workforce is Asian American, according to a Valley Water representative. The water district is committed to diversity and was one of the first to mark Cesar Chavez Day as a paid holiday years ago, he added.
Vietnamese American Roundtable Executive Director Philip Nguyen said recognizing Lunar New Year, or Tết in Vietnamese, fosters feelings of safety and belonging for a community that includes many immigrants and refugees. San Jose, home to more than 100,000 Vietnamese residents, hosts annual Tết festivals. It’s the biggest holiday of the year for many Asian Americans, he added.
“Having Lunar New Year as a paid holiday… (feels) like our history, our culture is represented as a part of America,” Nguyen told San José Spotlight. “If it’s institutionalized, then it allows us to…
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