China News Agency, San Francisco, January 19th. According to a bill passed by California in 2022, the upcoming Chinese New Year in 2023 will become a statutory holiday in California for the first time.

　　On September 29, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill making the Chinese New Year a statutory holiday in the state.

Beginning in 2023, California government employees may take eight hours of vacation, annual leave or compensatory time off to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

　　The bill was sponsored by 30 California lawmakers last year and was finally signed into law by Newsom after being voted by both houses of the state Senate and House of Representatives.

Newsom said at the time that Chinese New Year celebrations give people a chance to put aside the worries of the past year and welcome prosperity and good fortune.

By making the Chinese New Year a statutory holiday in California, it recognizes the cultural diversity that Asians bring to the state, and at the same time provides an opportunity for all Californians to participate in celebrating the Chinese New Year.

　　The signing of the bill also made California the first state in the United States to list the Chinese New Year as a statutory holiday.

Chinese Congressman Meng Zhaowen announced in January 2022 that she had proposed a new proposal and resolution in the House of Representatives, calling for the Chinese New Year to be designated as a new federal statutory holiday, recognizing its important cultural and historical significance.

　　The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 national census data show that in the past 10 years, the Asian population in the country has increased by more than one-third, and the growth rate ranks first among all ethnic groups.

At present, the Asian American population has reached 24 million, accounting for 6% of the total population of the country.

About two-thirds of Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese Americans celebrate the Chinese New Year, according to the Pew Research Center.

In cities with large Asian populations, such as San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, various celebrations such as street fairs, parades, and dragon and lion dances attract the participation of people of all ethnicities around the Chinese New Year every year.

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