United Nations adds Lunar New Year to its holiday list for staff

The United Nations (UN) has officially recognised the Lunar New Year as an optional holiday, concluding a decade-long campaign by Chinese staff and Beijing's mission at the international body. The resolution to honour the Lunar New Year as a 'floating holiday' was unanimously endorsed at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. This signifies that the festival, which celebrates the commencement of a new year in the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar, will become the eighth optional holiday that staff at the UN headquarters and its offices globally can choose to observe.

The other optional holidays are Yom Kippur, Vesak Day, Diwali, Gurpurab, Orthodox Christmas, Orthodox Good Friday, and Nowruz. According to UN regulations, staff have nine fixed holidays and one floating holiday annually. The UN refrains from conducting meetings during these periods. Dai Bing, the charge d'affaires of China's permanent mission to the United Nations, stated that the decision 'reflected the influence of Chinese culture'. He further added that it would 'strongly push forward exchanges of different cultures and demonstrates the values of diversity and inclusiveness upheld by the United Nations'.

The Lunar New Year holds significant importance in the Chinese calendar, and numerous world leaders acknowledge it by extending greetings to Chinese communities in China and globally. The festival is celebrated by many Asian countries and is referred to as Korean New Year in North and South Korea and Tet in Vietnam. The resolution passed on Friday marked a milestone in the decade-long efforts by Chinese staff at the UN and the Chinese mission, who have advocated for the festival's inclusion as a floating holiday. The UN acknowledged in a post that the designation of the Lunar New Year as a United Nations holiday has long been 'a matter of concern' for their Chinese staff. Some Chinese staff also proposed using the term Lunar New Year rather than Chinese New Year to garner the support of other Asian countries. The UN's decision sparked widespread discussions on the Chinese social media site Weibo, attracting more than 61 million views by Saturday afternoon, making it one of the most popular topics of the day. Many users expressed their delight at the recognition and acceptance of Chinese traditional culture.