United Nations adds Lunar New Year to its holiday list for staff
- The proposal to include the festival as an optional annual holiday was passed unanimously by the UN General Assembly
- The decision reflects the influence of Chinese culture, says a senior member of Beijing’s mission to the body
The resolution to honour the Lunar New Year as a “floating holiday” was endorsed unanimously at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday.
It means the festival, which celebrates the beginning 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 around the world can choose from to observe during the year.
The others are Yom Kippur, Vesak Day, Diwali, Gurpurab, Orthodox Christmas, Orthodox Good Friday and Nowruz.
Under UN rules, staff have nine fixed holidays as well as a floating holiday during the year. UN bodies avoid holding meetings during those times.
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Dai Bing, charge d’affaires of China’s permanent mission to the United Nations, said the decision “reflected the influence of Chinese culture”.