California could become the latest U.S. state to designate Diwali as an official statewide holiday.
Last week the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 268, which would add Diwali, also known as Deepavali and the Hindu “Festival of Lights,” to the state’s official holiday list.
The Assembly bill would authorize community colleges and public schools to close on Diwali. State employees would be allowed to elect to take the day off; certain community college and public school employees would be given time off with pay under the proposed law.
California now has 11 state holidays, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Cesar Chavez Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day.
In order for the bill to become a law Gov. Gavin Newsom must sign it before Oct. 12. A representative for Newsom could not immediately be reached for comment on the bill.
“Designating Diwali as an official state holiday not only recognizes the festival’s religious and historical importance but will better enable those throughout the Indian diaspora and beyond to take part in one of the world’s oldest religious holidays,” said Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San JosĂ©), who introduced the bill.
Diwali is celebrated over the course of five days and marks the beginning of the new year in the Hindu calendar, according to the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. The holiday is traditionally celebrated after the year’s last harvest in either October or November by Hindus and Indians across the Indian diaspora.
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Festivities surround honoring the goddess of prosperity and abundance, Lakshmi.
Participants invite the goddess to enter and bless their homes, businesses, temples and other public spaces by placing rows of lights within these areas, according to the Hindu American Foundation.
It’s also a time to recognize important relationships, which is why celebrations include visits with family, friends and others in the community and exchanging gifts or sweets.
Diwali will begin on Oct. 20 this year.
Shakeel Syed, executive director of the South Asian Network of Southern California, said if passed the bill is another step in the direction of recognizing the Hindu community in particular and the South Asian community in general for a major annual religious event.
“It’s a recognition and representation certainly for the second and third generations of this diaspora [so they can] feel part of society rather than a hyphenated version of society, especially in schools and colleges,” Syed said.
California has the nation’s largest South Asian population, with Los Angeles being home to the fourth largest such population of any metropolitan area, according to the South Asian Network.
Pennsylvania was the first U.S. state to designate Diwali as an official holiday in 2024; however, schools government offices and businesses aren’t required to close in observance, CBS News reported.
This year, Connecticut became the second to add the event to its official holiday list.
The New Jersey Department of Education allows students to observe Diwali, meaning they can be absent from class to celebrate. In New York City, public schools are closed on Diwali, an education law that was enacted in 2023.
“These initiatives really negate and mitigate the very pervasive idea of seeing immigrants as permanent foreigners in this country only because of their color or language,” Syed said. “So I applaud the California Legislature in sending a message to the country that we are a nation of immigrants, so any which way that we can celebrate that aspect is good for everyone.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
