Lunar New Year listed as UN holiday

The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution recognising Lunar New Year as an annual holiday of the world’s largest multilateral organisation.

The resolution states that Lunar New Year is celebrated by many UN member countries and encourages UN bodies to refrain from scheduling meetings on this day.

The passing of the resolution ahead of the 2024 Lunar New Year is not only significant to the countries that celebrate the festival but also comes as good news for the nearly 2 billion people around the world who regard Lunar New Year as the most important event of the year.

The resolution marks the international community’s recognition of East Asian traditional culture and is the result of a joint effort of which Vietnam is a party.

Last August, the heads of missions of 12 countries — Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritius, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — sent a joint letter asking the for the inclusion of Lunar New Year to the UN calendar to reflect its commitment to diversity and inclusiveness and emphasise the cultural significance of the occasion.

NDO