Lunar New Year listed by United Nations as its annual holiday
Wednesday, December 27, 2023, 19:04 GMT+7
The United Nations (UN) has passed a resolution designating Lunar New Year as an annual UN holiday for the first time from 2024, after a coordinated campaign led by more than 10 countries, including Vietnam.
The 78th UN General Assembly adopted the resolution at its session in New York, the U.S., last Friday, recognizing the significant importance of the Lunar New Year, which is celebrated in many UN member states, and urged UN agencies not to convene meetings on the first day of this traditional festival.
The General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution ahead of the 2024 Lunar New Year carries significance for countries observing the festivities and is good news for nearly two billion people worldwide who see it as the most important holiday of the year, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented in a recent statement.
As such, the Lunar New Year will be one of 10 annual UN holidays from 2024.
This adoption marked the international community’s recognition of traditional Asian culture, and was the result of a coordinated advocacy process at the UN by 12 member countries, including Vietnam.
On August 10, the ambassadors and heads of delegations of Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritius, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to the UN sent a joint letter to UN leaders proposing the designation of the Lunar New Year as a UN holiday.
Such designation will recognize the cultural significance of this important holiday and demonstrate the UN’s commitment to the values of diversity and inclusion, the letter said.
About one-fifth of the world's population annually celebrate the Lunar New Year festival in diverse manners, VTC News reported, citing Dai Bing, charge d’affaires of China's permanent mission to the UN, as saying after the resolution was passed.
Every year, the UN secretary general extends his best wishes to all people of all countries that celebrate the Lunar New Year around the world.
The coming Lunar New Year in Vietnam begins on February 10.
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