​UN recognizes Lunar New Year as holiday

The resolution passed on Dec. 22 "recognizes the significant importance of the Lunar New Year and urges U.N. entities at headquarters and other offices to avoid scheduling meetings on this day."

In a statement Saturday, Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the General Assembly's adoption of a resolution ahead of the 2024 Lunar New Year carries significance for countries celebrating the Lunar New Year and is good news for nearly two billion people worldwide who consider it to be the most important holiday of the year.

This marks the international community's recognition of traditional Asian culture, a result of coordinated advocacy by countries at the U.N., including Vietnam, it added.

In August this year ambassadors and heads of delegation of 12 countries to the U.N. (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritius, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) sent a joint letter to the chairman of the conference committee asking for the inclusion of the Lunar New Year in the annual U.N. calendar to demonstrate the commitment to diversity and inclusion and the cultural significance of this holiday.

UN staff have nine statutory holidays and a floating holiday.

The next Lunar New Year, known as Tet in Vietnam, peaks on Feb. 10.