Call to declare Christmas Eve as public holiday
Upko Wanita has called on the government to consider rever ng the status of Christmas Eve on Dec 24 as a public holiday like it used to be 38 years ago when there were two-day holidays similar to Hari Raya Aidifitri and Chinese New Year.
KOTA KINABALU: Upko Wanita has called on the government to consider reverting the status of Christmas Eve on Dec 24 as a public holiday like it used to be 38 years ago.
Its chief Datin Juliana Jani said Christmas celebration was reduced to just one day, on Dec 25, during the Berjaya government regime compared to other celebrations such as Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and Chinese New Year, both having two days of public holidays.
Upko Wanita felt the eve of Christmas, that is Dec 24th, is equally important to the Christmas day itself.
“Christmas Eve is considered a Christian family reunion as they attend the Christmas Eve mass together with their respective families.
“This is the most beautiful and quality family time that Christian families could have,” she said.
Juliana said with the 24th and 25th of December being a public holiday, families, irregardless of religious affiliation, could plan for their Christmas and New Year holidays.
At the same time, Upko Wanita also urged government colleges and universities to be more compassionate to the students as it noted classes and exams for tertiary education were being held just around Christmas time.
“This is considered inappropriate because Christmas and New Year are supposed to be celebrated as holidays for families.
“The government should encourage December as a ‘family reunion' both for religions and New Year celebrations,” she said.
Based on random surveys, there were universities conducting classes up to Dec 22 and final exams being held the day after Christmas until January.
Juliana also urged the Education Department to consider rescheduling registration dates for secondary schools to either early December or early January.
It is inappropriate that registration dates for secondary schools are done between Christmas and the New Year celebrations, she said.
“Imagine parents who are already on vacation or in their respective kampungs but have to travel to the respective city and districts just to register their children,” she said.
On another note, Juliana said Upko Wanita welcomed the government's recent announcement of seven days unrecorded leave to non-Muslim government officers who wished to go for religious pilgrimage. “We are thankful to the new government for this special privilege,” she said.