Brooklyn–Queens Day facts for kids
Brooklyn–Queens Day was a special school holiday in New York City. It was celebrated in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. People also called it Welcome Back to Brooklyn Day, Kids Day, or Rally Day. For many years, kids in these areas had a day off from school. However, in 2005, it changed. All New York City students got the day off, but teachers had to attend a training day. This holiday is no longer observed as a school holiday.
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The Story of Brooklyn–Queens Day
How Sunday Schools Started
The idea for this holiday began with Sunday schools. A newspaper publisher named Robert Raikes started the first Sunday school in Gloucester, England. This was to help children who lived in poor areas. Many children worked in factories all week. Sunday was their only free day. So, the school was held on Sundays. About 30 years later, over 500,000 children were going to Sunday schools in Britain. These schools also started in other parts of Europe and North America.
Brooklyn's First Celebration
Brooklyn held its first yearly parade for Sunday schools on June 26, 1838. In the early 1860s, the New York State Legislature made "Anniversary Day" a school holiday in Brooklyn. Banks, however, stayed open. The first Anniversary Day was celebrated on May 28, 1861. This day marked 32 years since the Sunday School Union was founded. This was a very strong Protestant organization. The law set the first Thursday in June as the day for this holiday in the future.
Changes Over Time
In 1898, the City of Brooklyn became part of the larger City of Greater New York. At first, the New York City Board of Education did not want to recognize Anniversary Day. But after many protests, they changed their minds in 1902. In 1905, a new law was passed. It brought the holiday back and closed schools in Brooklyn. This was to celebrate "the founding of the Sunday school movement in Brooklyn." The holiday was held on the Thursday of the week after Memorial Day.
Queens held its first Sunday School Association Day Parade in 1910. After that, schools in Queens also started closing for the holiday in 1911. The holiday's name was later changed to Brooklyn Day. Then, in 1959, it changed again to Brooklyn–Queens Day. This happened because the Queens Federation of Churches wanted the holiday to include Queens. The day of the celebration was also moved to the weekend.
Over time, many people forgot that the holiday started to celebrate a religious group. It became a holiday to celebrate Brooklyn and Queens. Other boroughs sometimes complained because they did not have a similar day.
When It Was Celebrated
Brooklyn–Queens Day was usually observed on the first Thursday in June. If that Thursday was in the same week as Memorial Day, it was celebrated on the second Thursday.
The last parade in Ridgewood for this holiday was in 2009. However, the tradition of a parade continued in other places. The most recent one before the Coronavirus-19 pandemic was on June 6, 2019. It started at Irving Square Park in Bushwick.
A New Holiday
In 2022, City Council member Jenifer Rajkumar suggested replacing Brooklyn–Queens Day on the school calendar with Diwali. Mayor Adams supported this idea. As of 2025, Diwali is now a school holiday in New York City, and Brooklyn–Queens Day is no longer observed as a school holiday.
