Yibo Xu and his family are preparing for Lunar New Year celebrations.

“As a human being, we all need to know where we come from,” Yibo Xu said. 

He’s teaching his kids the importance of their cultural roots.

"There's actually a lot to prepare," Xu said. "[I am] from the southern part of China and my wife is from the northern part. We have a little bit different kind of traditions, so we blend them together.”

This year is the year of the snake. It’s the part of the Chinese zodiac that symbolizes wisdom, intuition and transformation.

New York is transforming what it means to celebrate inclusion for the traditional Chinese holiday this year. Public schools across the state are celebrating the Lunar New Year as an official school holiday for the first time, which means schools are closed. That allows thousands of Asian students, like Xu's kids, to celebrate with their families without sacrificing education.

“I believe this is a very important kind of inclusion that the entire family feels, really. The family reunion is kind of an important aspect in the Chinese New Year,” said Xu.

While cooking traditional foods and putting up decorations is a big part of the festivities, officials say it’s also about connecting to the past.

“The holiday celebrations are not only stay at home, not only get together; there's a lot of things around it," said Wei Qin, president of the Chinese Community Center. "[It's] how the kids learn to appreciate themselves and their elders, their seniors. There’s a whole package of culture involved in the holiday celebration that ... having the holiday in remaining in our school calendar [lets] all students respect the cultural diversity.”