Public Holidays of the United States
Strictly speaking, the United States does not have national holidays (i.e. days where all employees in the U.S. receive a day free from work and all business is halted). The U.S. Federal government can only recognize national holidays that pertain to its own employees; it is at the discretion of each state or local jurisdiction to determine official holiday schedules. There are eleven such "Federal holidays", ten annual and one quadrennial holiday. The annual Federal holidays are widely observed by state and local governments; however, they may alter the dates of observance or add or subtract holidays according to local custom. Pursuant to the Uniform Holidays Bill of 1968 (taking effect in 1971), official holidays are observed on a Monday, except for New Year's Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There are also U.S. state holidays particular to individual U.S. states.
In the U.S., most retail businesses close on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but remain open on all other holidays. Private businesses often observe only the "big six" holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). Some also add the Friday after Thanksgiving, or one or more of the other federal holidays.
Most American holidays recognize events or people from U.S. history, although two are shared in common with many other countries: Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Thanksgiving in the United States is on the fourth Thursday in November.
The holiday season in the winter traditionally runs between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, which encompasses the Winter solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.
Summer traditionally (though unofficially) runs between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Federal holidays
Federal holidays are designated by Congress in Title V of the United States Code (). If a holiday falls on a Saturday it is celebrated the preceding Friday; if a holiday falls on a Sunday it is celebrated the following Monday. Most, but not all, states and most, but not all, private businesses also observe a Sunday holiday on the following Monday. It is less common, however, for a state or private business to observe a Saturday holiday on the preceding Friday. Some states and private businesses may observe it then, a few may observe it on Monday, and some may not observe the holiday at all in those years. In particular, banks that close on Saturdays do not observe a holiday when it falls on Saturday.
| Date | Official Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | Celebrates beginning of the Gregorian calendar year. Festivities include counting down to midnight (12:00 AM) on the preceding night, New Year's Eve. Traditional end of holiday season. |
| Third Monday in January | Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., or Martin Luther King, Jr. Day | Honors Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights leader, who was actually born on January 15, 1929; combined with other holidays in several states. |
| January 20, every fourth year, following Presidential election | Inauguration Day | Observed only by federal government employees in Washington D.C., and the border counties of Maryland and Virginia, in order to relieve congestion that occurs with this major event. Swearing-in of President of the United States and Vice President of the United States. Celebrated every fourth year. Note: Takes place on January 21 if the 20th is a Sunday (although the President is still privately inaugurated on the 20th). If Inauguration Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the preceding Friday or following Monday is not a Federal Holiday |
| Third Monday in February | Washington's Birthday | Washington's Birthday was first declared a federal holiday by an 1879 act of Congress. The Uniform Holidays Act, 1968, shifted the date of the commemoration of Washington's Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday in February. Many people now refer to this holiday as "Presidents' Day" and consider it a day honoring all American presidents. However, neither the Uniform Holidays Act nor any subsequent law changed the name of the holiday from Washington's Birthday to Presidents' Day. |
| Last Monday in May | Memorial Day | Honors the nation's war dead from the Civil War onwards; marks the unofficial beginning of the summer season. (traditionally May 30, shifted by the Uniform Holidays Act 1968) |
| July 4 | Independence Day | Celebrates Declaration of Independence, also called the Fourth of July. |
| First Monday in September | Labor Day | Celebrates the achievements of workers and the labor movement; marks the unofficial end of the summer season. |
| Second Monday in October | Columbus Day | Honors Christopher Columbus, traditional discoverer of the Americas. In some areas it is also a celebration of Italian culture and heritage. (traditionally October 12); celebrated as American Indian Heritage Day and Fraternal Day in Alabama; celebrated as Native American Day in South Dakota. In Hawaii, it is celebrated as Discoverer's Day, though is not an official state holiday. |
| November 11 | Veterans Day | Honors all veterans of the United States armed forces. A traditional observation is a moment of silence at 11 AM remembering those killed in war. (Commemorates the 1918 armistice, which began at "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.") |
| Fourth Thursday in November | Thanksgiving Day | Traditionally celebrates the giving of thanks for the autumn harvest. Traditionally includes the consumption of a turkey dinner Traditional start of the "holiday season." (Note: Thanksgiving is not celebrated on the same day in Canada). |
| December 25 | Christmas Day | Celebrates the Nativity of Jesus. Some people consider aspects of this religious holiday, such as giving gifts and decorating a Christmas tree, to be secular rather than explicitly Christian. |
- Federal Holidays Calendars from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
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