This story was originally published by Capitol Weekly.

Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon get to decide whether a new state holiday will be coming to California.

Assembly Bill 268, authored by Assembly members Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, and Darshana Patel, D-San Diego, would add Diwali, a holiday celebrated by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains to the roster of California holiday celebrations that includes the likes of Cesar Chavez Day and Native American Day.

Because Diwali is based on the Hindu lunar calendar and not the Georgian calendar the United States uses, the official date changes yearly. Under this proposal Diwali, which is traditionally celebrated for five days, would be established as “the 15th day of the month of Kartik in the Hindu lunar calendar of each year.”

With close to 900,000

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