To the editor: As a 13-year-old student in New York City, I want to share what it meant to me when my school closed for Diwali for the first time in 2024 (“California may add new state holiday. What is Diwali and who celebrates it?,” Sept. 15).
Before then, I didn’t really get the chance to learn about or celebrate Diwali at school because it wasn’t official. I was born here in the U.S. and so were my parents. But without recognition, it sometimes felt like my part of American culture didn’t count the same way others’ did.
When my school finally recognized Diwali, I felt proud. Since then, I’ve become an advocate for celebrating everyone’s culture. I believe all Americans should be celebrated for their differences, not deported because of them. Celebrating holidays like Diwali together helps us build understanding and connection.
California now has that chance through Assembly Bill 268. Kids in Los Angeles and across California deserve the same as kids in New York.