让你的学区为中国新年放假
ABC-174 05/02 61394.5/52
Why LNY should be treated same as other religious holidays? This is to answer the question from the last BOE meeting.
Some people feel LNY is a culture holiday and should not receive the same treatment as religious holidays.
There are strong reasons that LNY is as important to those who observe them and should be treated so.
Lunar new year defines who we Chinese are and has been a must for all Chinese for thousands of years. If we do not celebrate it, we lose our identity. There is complete set of rituals and traditions: including having dinner with the family,worship ancestors, ward off evil spirits, visiting each other on the New Year's Day and give red packet to the kids. The belief and observance of all these are as strong as any religious holidays, as not having the opportunities to celebrate Lunar New Year makes me feel losing my Chinese identity.
In this sense, I agree with many researchers, that in China there is no clear boundary between religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucius and Chinese folk culture.
Research also suggests (Based on American Psychology Association) The better minority youth feel about their ethnicity or race, the fewer symptoms of depression and behavior problems they have. Thus, losing proper identity has a serious consequence on the psychological growth of our youth. The kids are the future of our community. Regardless of the their ethnicity, we have the responsibility to cultivate an environment for each of them to develop their diverse characters and grow into proud future citizens of this country.
Now we have an opportunity to help the kids learn who they are, identify themselves and be proud of it, by providing them the opportunity to observe the very holiday their ancestor had celebrated for thousands of years. Please make that happen.
