{"id":31742,"date":"2023-04-27T11:56:01","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T16:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/?p=31742"},"modified":"2023-04-27T13:52:17","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T18:52:17","slug":"pennsylvania-diwali-official-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/pennsylvania-diwali-official-holiday\/","title":{"rendered":"Declaring Diwali Official Holiday, Pennsylvania Goes Ahead of Other US States with High Indian-origin Population"},"content":{"rendered":"
Diwali, a most auspicious festival for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists the world over, is gradually being recognized across the northeast USA. The years of tireless efforts that Indian Diaspora continues to make to get an official holiday on Diwali in America is bearing fruit in some parts of the northeast coast<\/strong>. In 2022, the Mayor of New York City gave the best Diwali gift to Indian New Yorkers<\/a><\/span> by declaring the Festival of Lights as a public school holiday, which will be effective from Diwali 2023.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania took a step ahead of New York and New Jersey by recognizing Diwali not just as a public school holiday but as a state holiday. Yesterday, the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill with an official stamp to this recognition, which was long due. The bill was brought to the state Senate in February this year. Nikil Saval, an Indian American writer, activist, politician, and a Senator from Philadelphia<\/a><\/span>, broke the news through a tweet.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n