February 8 2016 declared a nationwide holiday – Chinese New Year

February 8 2016 declared a nationwide holiday – Chinese New Year

The Chinese community in the Philippines and around the world will celebrate their annual Spring Festival, which is usually referred to as the Chinese New Year, this February 8.

The day is a special non-working holiday nationwide as mandated by President Benigno Aquino III’s Proclamation 1105. It is the first nationwide special-non working holiday this 2015. The holiday will give Filipinos a three-day weekend since it falls on Monday.

Proclamation 1105, which lists all nationwide regular and special non-working holidays for this year, was released last August 2015.

february 8 2016 holiday philippines
February 8 2016 is a special non-working holiday in the Philippines because of Chinese New Year (Credits: Demetrio Ragua)

In making the holiday proclamation, Aquino noted that the Spring Festival is “one of the most revered and festive events celebrated not only in China but also in the Philippines by both Chinese-Filipinos and ordinary Filipinos as well.”

Chinese New Year was first declared a non-working holiday in 2012 and it now stands as one of the legacies of President Aquino, who has Chinese ancestry from his mother’s side. His predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, only went as far as declaring it a special working day.

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Mark Pere Madrona

The Filipino Scribe (TFS) is managed by Mark Pere Madrona, a multi-awarded writer and licensed professional teacher from the Philippines. Mr. Madrona earned his master’s degree in history from the University of the Philippines-Diliman last 2020. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in journalism cum laude from the same university back in 2010. His area of interests includes Philippine journalism, history, and politics as well as social media. Know more about him here: https://www.filipinoscribe.com/about/.

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