LOS ANGELES (AP) — California has become the third U.S. state to designate Diwali — the Hindu “Festival of Lights” — as an official statewide holiday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Tuesday to go into effect on Jan. 1. It would authorize public schools and community colleges to close on Diwali. State employees could elect to take the day off and public school students will get an excused absence to celebrate the holiday. The new law recognizes that Diwali is also celebrated by Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists.

Pennsylvania was the first U.S. state to make Diwali a statewide holiday in 2024, followed by Connecticut earlier this year.

Assemblymember Ash Kalra, a Democrat from San Jose who coauthored the bill with Darshana Patel, an assemblymember from San Diego, said he grew up celebr

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