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Parents, grab your Sharpies: The New York City public school calendar just got a little more colorful. For the 2025–26 academic year, students and teachers will officially have the day off for Diwali, Lunar New Year and Eid al-Adha. Kids are already cheering. Parents? They might be frantically checking who’s free for babysitting.
Here’s how the new lineup lands:
- Diwali: Monday, October 20, 2025
- Lunar New Year: Monday, February 17, 2026
- Eid al-Adha: Wednesday, May 27, 2026
While Eid holidays have been recognized by many schools in the past and Diwali was first added to the citywide calendar in 2023, the 2025–26 school year marks the first time all three holidays appear together, woven firmly into the city’s academic schedule.
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For advocates, it’s a long-awaited win. Community groups have spent years lobbying the Department of Education to make the calendar reflect the cultural traditions of the families it serves. With more than a million students in the system—and a student body that speaks 180 languages—the move feels like an overdue nod to the city’s actual makeup.
Of course, not everyone’s thrilled. Extra days off can throw working families into childcare scrambles, and the DOE still has to meet its minimum instructional hours, which means school years that already stretch late into June may creep even closer to July.
Still, the upside is big. For Hindu, Muslim and Asian American students, not having to choose between showing up for class and celebrating a major holiday is no small deal. For classmates, it’s a chance to learn about each other’s traditions—ideally over sweets, lanterns or a post-fast feast. Private and parochial schools, meanwhile, continue to run on their own timelines, often ending weeks earlier. But for the city’s public-school kids, this year’s calendar is more reflective than ever of the city they live in.
Whether you’re lighting diyas, handing out red envelopes, or joining a celebratory meal, the school year just got three new reasons to celebrate—and maybe a little less predictable for your June vacation planning.