Type National | ||
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Observed by Federal governmentState governmentsLocal governmentsPrivate and public sector employers |
Public holidays in the United States are largely controlled by private sector employers, who employ approximately 62% of the total U.S. population who are given paid time off. A typical work week is generally 40 hours a week with a Saturday-Sunday weekend. Public holidays with paid time off is generally defined to occur on a day that is within the employee's work week. When a holiday occurs on Saturday or Sunday, that holiday is shifted to either Friday or Monday. Most employers follow a holiday schedule similar to the federal holidays of the United States, with exceptions or additions. The federal holiday schedule mainly benefits employees of government and government regulated businesses. However, this sector only comprises 15% of the working population. At the discretion of the employer, other non-federal holidays such as Christmas Eve and the Day after Thanksgiving are common additions to the list of paid holidays while Columbus Day and Veterans Day are common omissions. Besides paid holidays are festival and food holidays that also have wide acceptance based on sales of goods and services that are typically associated with that holiday. Halloween and Valentine's Day are such examples of widely celebrated uncompensated holidays.
Contents
- History
- Overview
- Holiday listing as paid time off
- School holidays
- Government sector holidays Federal state and local government
- Federally regulated agencies Banks and financial institutions
- Holidays with religious and cultural significance
- Drinking holidays
- African American holidays
- Christian holidays
- Hindu holidays
- Jewish holidays
- Muslim holidays
- Other religious traditional and informal holidays celebrated in the United States
- Other notable holidays
- References
History
Public holidays had their origins from established federal holidays that were enacted by Congress. They were typically observed on days that have significance for various sectors of American society and are observed at all levels of society including government, the private sector, and are typically derived from the history, religion and the cultures of the U.S. demographics and have changed over time. Observances of holidays are most commonly observed with paid time off, however, many holiday celebrations are done with festivities without time off. Some are observed with community work depending on the meaning of the holiday. They are however not mandated by any government, agencies, whether it be federal, state, or local governments. There are no national holidays on which all businesses are closed by law. Federal holidays are only established for certain federally chartered and regulated businesses (such as federal banks), and for Washington, D.C. All other public holidays are created by the States; most states also allow local jurisdictions (cities, villages, etc.) to establish their own local holidays. As a result, holidays have not historically been governed at the federal level and federal law does not govern business opening. Some states restrict some business activities on some holidays. Business closures are mandated on some holidays in some states for certain kinds of businesses by Blue Laws. For example, some businesses cannot open on Thanksgiving Day in some New England states if the businesses operated on more than 5000 square feet of space. The most notable businesses to close on such occasions are car dealerships and establishments selling alcohol.
Overview
As of 2012, there were eleven federal holidays in the United States, ten annual holidays and one quadrennial holiday (Inauguration Day). Pursuant to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 (effective 1971), official holidays are observed on a Monday, except for New Year's Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
While all current federal holidays have also been made public holidays in all 50 states for federal organizations, each state is not bound to observe the holidays on the same dates as the federal holidays. Many states also have additional holidays that are not observed by the U.S. federal government. Many businesses likewise observe certain holidays as well, which are also not mandated by any government agency. A list of "recommended diversity holidays" recognizes many cultures that range from Christianity to Islam, as well as racial diversity where various ethnic holidays such as St. Patrick's Day, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Mardi Gras, and Cinco de Mayo are celebrated by individuals in the workplace, as a matter of best practice. In light of recent race issues in the United States, many municipalities both at the city and state levels have begun celebrating Malcolm X Day and Rosa Parks Day in addition to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to embrace the mostly disenfranchised African American community in the form of festivals and parades if not done as a legal public holiday. Illinois and Berkeley, California are two places where Malcolm X is honored with a legal holiday with offices closed whereas Missouri honored Rosa Parks on her birthday. Today, the United States is the 85th most ethnically diverse country in the world. While the popularity of each public holiday cannot easily be measured, the holiday with the highest greeting card sales is Christmas. Major retail establishments such as malls, shopping centers and most retail stores close only on Thanksgiving and Christmas and some on Easter Sunday as well, but remain open on all other holidays (early closing on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and sometimes on other major holidays). Virtually all companies observe and close on the major holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). Some non-retail business close on the day after Thanksgiving, while some (such as federal banks and post offices) are not allowed to close on the day after Thanksgiving. Some smaller businesses normally open on Sunday will close on Easter Sunday, if it is their experience they will have very few customers that day.
The labor force in the United States comprises about 62% (as of 2014) of the general population. In the United States, 97% of the private sector businesses determine what days this sector of the population gets paid time off, according to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management. The following holidays are observed by the majority of the U.S. businesses with paid time off:
Easter, while widely celebrated, always falls on a Sunday and therefore does not require special time off.
Holiday listing as paid time off
This list of holidays is based off the official list of Federal Holidays by Year from the U.S. Government. The holidays however are at the discretion of employers whose statistics are measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another list from the Society for Human Resource Management shows actual percentages of employers offering paid time off for each holiday. The term "major holiday" (bolded) coincides for those holidays that 90% or more of employers offered paid time off.
* List of Federal Holidays by Year from the U.S. Government (see Office of Personnel Management)
** Additional holidays referenced by the Society for Human Resource Management: Good Friday 26%, Easter Monday 6%, Yom Kippur 7%, Day before Thanksgiving 3–8%, Day after Thanksgiving 69–75%, Day before Christmas Eve 33%, Christmas Eve 78–79%, Day after Christmas 40–64%, Day before New Years Eve 25–71% depending if it falls on a weekend, New Years Eve 71%, Passover 3%, Hanukkah 1%, Ramadan 1%, Ash Wednesday 1%, Diwali 1%, Eid al-Adha 1%, Vietnamese New Year <1%, Chinese New Year <1%
School holidays
An academic year typically spans from early fall to early summer, with two or three months of summer vacation marking the end of year. K-12 public schools generally observe local, state, and federal holidays, plus additional days off around Thanksgiving, the period from before Christmas until after New Year's Day, a spring break (usually a week in April) and sometimes a winter break (a week in February or March). Two or three days per year are sometimes devoted to professional development for teachers, and students have the day off.
Most colleges and universities divide the school year into two semesters. The fall semester often begins the day after Labor Day in early September and runs until mid-December. The spring semester typically starts in the middle or end of January and runs until May. Winter and summer classes might be offered in January and May–August. Major federal, state, and local holidays are often observed, including the day after and usually before Thanksgiving. Spring break is usually a week in March or early April, and in college party culture traditionally involves a warm-weather trip.
Unscheduled weather-related cancellations and emergency cancellations can also affect school calendars.
When taking summer school or summer camp schedules into account, the Independence Day holiday on July 4 is usually a scheduled holiday observance for which the summer program closes.
Government sector holidays: Federal, state, and local government
The federal government sector labor force consisted of about 2,729,000 (as of 2014) of the total labor force of 150,539,900, which is roughly about 1.8% of the total labor force or about 1.1% of the total population. In addition, state and local governments consist of another 19,134,000 bringing the U.S. total government sector employees to about 15% of the total labor force. This sector of the population is entitled to paid time off designated as Federal holidays by Congress in Title V of the United States Code (5 U.S.C. § 6103). Both federal and state government employees generally observe the same federal holidays.
Federally regulated agencies: Banks and financial institutions
U.S. banks generally observe the federal holidays because of their reliance on the U.S. Federal Reserve for certain activities such as wire transfers and Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions. For example, JP Morgan Chase observes all federal holidays except Columbus Day, while U.S. Bank observes all of them.
The New York Stock Exchange also closely follows the federal holidays except for Columbus Day. However, the agency also has extra holidays on the day before Independence Day and Good Friday.
Not to be confused with tax holidaysIn general, most state governments observe the same holidays that the federal government observes. However, while that is true for most states, every state includes and omits holidays to fit the culture relevant to its population.
Alabama
See also: State of Alabama Legal HolidaysBaldwin County, Alabama
Mobile County, Alabama
Perry County, Alabama
See also: Perry County, Alabama CalendarAlaska
See also: Alaska State HolidaysAmerican Samoa
See also: American Samoa HolidaysArizona
See also:Arizona State HolidaysArkansas
See also: Arkansas State HolidaysCalifornia
See also: California Department of Human Resources - State HolidaysThe U.S. state of California has separate definitions of "state holidays" which are different from "legal holidays".
California education holidays
See also: California Education Code 37220-37223Lincoln's Birthday (February 12) was removed from California's education holiday calendar in 2009
California legal holidays
See also: California Legal HolidaysCalifornia's "legal holidays" are defined by the California Employment Development Department. These are "legal holidays" that do not necessarily correspond to California's state holidays. EDD offices generally remain open on the days not designated as a state holiday.
Berkeley, California
See also: City of Berkeley: Holiday and Reduced Service Days ScheduleSan Francisco, California
See also: San Francisco City and County HolidaysWest Hollywood, California
See also: West Hollywood City HolidaysColorado
See also: Colorado State HolidaysConnecticut
See also: Connecticut Department of Administrative Services State HolidaysDelaware
See also State of Delaware - State HolidaysDistrict of Columbia
See also: District of Columbia Department of Human Resources HolidaysFlorida
See also: Florida State Holidays Chapter 110 Section 117Florida's laws separately defines "paid holidays" versus "legal holidays", which does not have any obligation to include as "paid holidays".
Florida legal holidays
See also: Florida Legal Holidays Chapter 683 Section 1Florida's laws separate the definitions between paid versus legal holidays. The following list shows only the legal holidays that were not defined as "paid holidays":
Florida circuit courts
See also: Florida Circuit Court HolidaysMiami-Dade, Florida
See also: Miami-Dade Government HolidaysGeorgia
See also: Georgia State HolidaysGuam
See also: Guam Government HolidaysHawaii
See also: Hawaii State Government HolidaysIdaho
See also: Idaho State HolidaysIllinois
See also: Illinois Department of Central Management Services State HolidaysChicago, Illinois
See also: Chicago City HolidaysIndiana
See also: Indiana State Personnel State HolidaysIowa
See also: Iowa Department of Administrative ServicesKansas
See also: State of Kansas Employee Service CenterKentucky
See also: State Holidays Kentucky Personnel CabinetLouisiana
See also: Louisiana State HolidaysLouisiana courts
See also: Louisiana Court HolidaysBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Maine
See also: Maine Public HolidaysMaryland
See also: Maryland State Employee HolidaysMassachusetts
See also: Massachusetts Legal HolidaysSuffolk County, Massachusetts
Michigan
See also: Michigan State HolidaysMinnesota
See also: Minnesota Court HolidaysMississippi
See also: Mississippi State HolidaysMissouri
See also: Missouri State HolidaysMontana
See also: Montana State HolidaysNebraska
See also: Nebraska Health and Human Services State HolidaysNevada
See also: Nevada State HolidaysNew Hampshire
See also: New Hampshire State HolidaysNew Jersey
See also : New Jersey State HolidaysNew Mexico
See also: New Mexico State HolidaysNew York
See also: New York State HolidaysNew York City Public Schools
See also: New York City School CalendarNorth Carolina
See also: North Carolina Human Resources State Employee HolidaysNorth Dakota
See also: North Dakota State HolidaysNorthern Mariana Islands
See also: Northern Mariana Islands HolidaysOhio
See also: Ohio State Employer HolidaysOklahoma
See also: Oklahoma State HolidaysOregon
See also: Oregon Legal HolidaysPennsylvania
See also: Pennsylvania State HolidaysPuerto Rico
See also: Puerto Rico Public HolidaysRhode Island
See also: Rhode Island State HolidaysSouth Carolina
See also: South Carolina Holiday LeaveSouth Dakota
See also: Schedule of Office Closures for State-recognized holidaysTennessee
See also: Tennessee State HolidaysTexas
See also: Official Texas State HolidaysTexas partial staffing holidays
Texas law designates that the state businesses be "partially staffed" on the following holidays. These holidays can be replaced with an optional holiday per the state employee's choice, but will give up one of these in lieu of the optional holiday.
Texas optional holidays
Texas law allows a state employee to replace a partial staffing holiday with one of the following holidays. On these holidays, the state agency is generally required to stay open with minimum staff.
U.S. Virgin Islands
See also: U.S. Virgin Islands Court HolidaysUtah
See also: Utah State HolidaysVermont
See also: Vermont State HolidaysVirginia
See also: Virginia State HolidaysWake Island
Washington
See also: Washington State HolidaysWest Virginia
See also: West Virginia State HolidaysWisconsin
See also: State of Wisconsin Legal HolidaysWisconsin Public School Observance Days
See also: Wisconsin Public School Observance DaysWisconsin's public schools are obligated to observe the 21 days designated by Wisconsin Statute section 118.02 on the designated day unless the day falls on Saturday or Sunday, in which case would move the observance to either the preceding Friday or following Monday. The statutes require the public schools to include instruction relating to the holidays. In this list of holidays, all schools remain open.
Wyoming
See also: Wyoming State HolidaysFederal holidays at the state level
While most federal holidays are observed at the state level, some of these holidays are observed with different names, are observed on different days, or completely not observed in some states of the United States. ^ a. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is known officially as Martin Luther King, Jr./Civil Rights Day in Arizona, and New Hampshire, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E. Lee's Birthdays in Arkansas, Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Florida, and Maryland, Martin Luther King Jr. / Idaho Human Rights Day in Idaho, and Martin Luther King's and Robert E. Lee's Birthdays in Mississippi. ^ b. Washington's Birthday is known officially as President's Day in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming, Washington-Lincoln Day in Colorado (CRS 24-11-101), Ohio, Lincoln/Washington/Presidents' Day in Arizona, George Washington's Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day in Arkansas, Presidents' Day in Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Vermont, Washington's Birthday/President's Day in Maine, Presidents Day in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, and Oregon, Lincoln's and Washington's Birthday in Montana, Washington and Lincoln Day in Utah, and George Washington Day in Virginia. ^ The day after Thanksgiving is observed in lieu of Columbus Day in Minnesota. ^ Columbus Day is listed as a state holiday in New Hampshire although state offices remain open. ^ President's Day, Good Friday (11am-3pm), Juneteenth Day (June 19), Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, Partisan Primary Election Day, and General Election Day are listed as a state holiday in Wisconsin although state offices remain open.
Legal holidays observed nationwide
Holidays with religious and cultural significance
The religious and cultural holidays in the United States is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. However, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...." and Article VI specifies that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." As a result, various religious faiths have flourished, as well as perished, in the United States. A majority of Americans report that religion plays a "very important" role in their lives, a proportion unique among developed nations.
The majority of Americans (73–80%) identify themselves as Christians and about 15–20% have no religious affiliation. According to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) (2008) 76% of the American adult population identified themselves as Christians, with 51% professing attendance at a variety of churches that could be considered Protestant or unaffiliated, and 25% professing Catholic beliefs. The same survey says that other religions (including, for example, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism) collectively make up about 4% of the adult population, another 15% of the adult population claim no religious affiliation, and 5.2% said they did not know, or they refused to reply. According to a 2012 survey by the Pew forum, 36 percent of Americans state that they attend services nearly every week or more.
Drinking holidays
According to the National Institutes of Health, about 86% of the U.S. population drinks alcohol recreationally or socially. In the United States, the holidays that are considered the most "festive" are generally regarded as some of the "most drunken holidays." Celebrations usually revolve around barbecues and beer. Although many of these holiday lack any official status, these holidays are generally observed by the drinking culture for the fact that these holidays revolve around drinking. One measurement of the popularity of these holidays can be measured by the amount of alcohol purchased for the occasion. One particular survey names New Years Eve as the holiday for which the most alcohol is consumed based on sales. While many holidays are listed, some are generally notable for their drinking requirement while others are known for abstinence.
African American holidays
African Americans make up about 12% of the U.S. population. While some customs have come from abroad, many of the customs were developed inside the United States. Kwanzaa, for example, is a custom has greatly influenced American culture originating from the "turbulent 60's" when race relations in the United States was at its lowest. Most of the newer holidays revolve around a particular civil rights activist and have recently gained attention from city and state level governments. At the federal level, only Martin Luther King, Jr. was honored.
Christian holidays
With 73% of the U.S. population identifying themselves as Christian, many holidays from the liturgical calendar are observed by this segment of the population. With 94% of businesses including federal, state, and local governments closing on Christmas, arguably the most significant holiday of the Christian religion, many stores are also closed on Christmas, but with a relatively small exception. For example, convenience stores operating on less than 5,000 square feet of space such as 7-Eleven and CVS Pharmacy can remain open. A reference in A Christmas Story shows a Chinese restaurant being the only establishment open on Christmas.
Some private businesses and certain other institutions are closed on Good Friday. The financial market and stock market is closed on Good Friday. Most retail stores remain open although some might close early. Public schools and most universities are closed on Good Friday, either as a holiday of its own, or part of spring break. The postal service operates, and banks regulated by the federal government do not close for Good Friday.
Many companies, including banks, malls, shopping centers and most private retail stores that normally open on Sundays are closed on Easter.
Hindu holidays
According to some sources, the Hindu holidays of Diwali and Holi are commonly celebrated as a "mainstream" holiday throughout the United States, not only by Indian Americans or peoples of Indian descent. Many firms that hire a people from India will even go as far as observing the holidays with a celebration within the company or even approving it as a paid day off. Holi, the "festival of colors" has inspired a Broadway musical based on this festival. New York City Council has voted on a resolution that may make Diwali and Holi a legal holiday in Resolution 1863-2013. As of August 2013, the resolution has passed and the holidays are now officially legal holidays in New York City. CNN reported that the Diwali holiday is shown in American pop culture through an episode of The Office.
Jewish holidays
According to various sources, the three most commonly celebrated Jewish holidays are Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah. Passover and Yom Kippur in addition to Rosh Hashannah and Hanukkah are recognized as an optional state level holiday in the U.S. state of Texas All Jewish holidays start the night before, as that is when the Jewish day begins.
Muslim holidays
According to various sources, the major holidays of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha have been recognized in the United States. Awareness of these holidays can be found in calendars published by major calendar manufacturers. According to Al-Jazeera, schools in the U.S. states of New York and Michigan (mainly Dearborn) may begin to close in observance of all Muslim holidays.
Other religious, traditional, and informal holidays celebrated in the United States
In addition to the federal/national holidays, many religious, ethnic, and other traditional holidays populate the calendar, as well as observances proclaimed by officials and lighter celebrations. These are rarely observed by businesses as holidays (Except for Easter and most often also on Good Friday); indeed, many are viewed as opportunities for commercial promotion. Because of this commercialization, some critics apply the deprecatory term Hallmark holiday to such days, after the Hallmark greeting card company.