Happy Lunar New Year! Official status as a holiday too?

Have a safe and wonderful Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival)! 2006 is the Year of the Dog.

Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year

* * * * *

Washington Post - A Date With Tradition: Chinese New Year Ushers in Quest for Official Holiday Recognition

Italian-Americans got Columbus Day, Irish have St. Patrick's Day, and African-Americans have MLK. Is it time to give Lunar New Year similar holiday status? There are over 12 million Asians living in the United States. It's Chinese New Year for the Chinese, Tet for the Vietnamese, and Sol Nal for the Koreans. Whether the day should receive holiday status, at least we should have the right to take the day off from work without penalty or be able to take our kids out of school for the traditional ceremonies (unless it's a test on that day). It would be also good, out of courtesy, for professors not to hold exams on Lunar New Year.

Across the nation, it is slowly happening. In 1994, the city of San Francisco agreed to close its public schools to celebrate the Asian holiday. In New York City, the city council agree to recognize Lunar New Year (which bascially means that parking rules were relaxed). This led to the Montgomery County in Maryland to declare Lunar New Year as a Day of Commemoration. This way, Asians can have a personal leave day from work.