East Meadow School District Adds Hindu, Muslim Holidays to Calendar

Earlier this month, the East Meadow School District approved adding the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha and the Hindu holiday of Diwali to the school calendar and giving students days off for them.

Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, is one of the holiest Muslim holidays. It celebrates the story of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son to God. In 2017, it will be celebrated from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5.

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. Celebrants light candles around their homes in celebration. In 2017, it will be celebrated on Oct. 19.

“I am proud to say we have a diverse community here in our school district,” said East Meadow Superintendent Leon Campo. “After doing a lot of research on both holidays, I recommend to the board to adopt Eid al-Adha and Diwali as school holidays, while recognizing Eid al-Fitr as a religious holiday.”

Campo added that, while there wasn't room in the calendar to add the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in the 2017-18 school year, it could be added in the future.

It is rare for Long Island schools to have non-Judeo-Christian holidays on their calendars. East Meadow is one of only two districts on Long Island to recognize Diwali. Syosset was the first school district to add the holiday to its calendar.

The move to include Diwali on the calendar was celebrated by Hindus.

"If schools had declared other religious holidays, why not Diwali?" said Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism. "Holidays of all major religions should be honored and no one should be penalized for practicing their religion."

Hinduism, according to the society, is the oldest and third-largest religion in the world, with about 1 billion practitioners around the world. In the United States, there are about 3 million Hindus.

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