OCT 19, 2023 : Mayor of New York City Eric Adams, who attended the Diwali celebration at the People’s House on Wednesday, declared that the day is about driving away the darkness (evils) and bringing light into your surrounds. He took to X and expressed his joy while taking part in the festivities with the Hindu community. “Diwali is more than just a holiday,” he wrote in a post on X. It serves as a reminder to everyone of us to drive out darkness wherever we encounter it and replace it with light. We invited the Hindu community to the People’s House last night for a special #Diwali celebration, and I’m very delighted to stand with them.”Mayor Eric Adams declared earlier in June that New York City will observe Diwali, the festival of lights, as a school holiday. Diwali is a festival celebrated annually by thousands of New Yorkers to honour the triumph of light over darkness. Recently, state legislators passed legislation making it a holiday in the nation’s largest school system. The occasion was hailed by Mayor Eric Adams as a huge victory for the neighbourhood families. “I am really proud to have fought alongside community leaders and Assemblymember Jennifer Rajkumar to get Diwali observed as a school holiday. Shubh Diwali! I know it’s a little early in the year,” the Mayor tweeted. Since Sunday, November 12, is Diwali this year, it will be the first day of the 2024 school year that schools are closed.
