Federal Holidays in the USA

The chart below shows a list of federal -or national- holidays observed in the USA. Federal holidays in the USA are defined in the Federal Law (5 U.S.C. 6103).

View the Federal Holidays Calendar for 2008, 2009 and 2010

Name of holiday	Date	Notes
New Year's Day	January 1	The beginning of the new year in the Gregorian calendar
Martin Luther King Jr.Day	3rd Monday in January	Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
Inauguration Day *	January 20	Every fourth year following a presidential election (2009, 2013, etc)
Washington's Birthday (Presidents Day)	3rd Monay in February	Honors George Washington and other American Presidents
Memorial Day (Decoration Day)	Last Monday in May	Remembering soldiers who died in the American Civil War
Independence Day	July 4	Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
Labor Day	1st Monday in September	Celebrating workers and their achievements across the USA
Columbus Day	2nd Monday in October	Honors Christopher Columbus who first arrived to America on October 12, 1492
Veterans Day (Armistice Day or Remembrance Day)	November 11	Honors the veterans of the United States Armed Forces.
Thanksgiving	4th Thursday in November	Celebrates giving thanks for the autumn harvest
Christmas Day	December 25	Celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

* Inauguration day is the swearing-in of the President of the United States. This holiday is observed only in Washington DC, and a few other areas such as Maryland and Virginia to relieve congestion on this day. (This day is observed on January 21 if the 20th is a Sunday)

What is a federal holiday?

A federal holiday in the United States is a day recognized by the Federal Government as a paid vacation day. There are 10 such federal holidays in the USA.

On national federal holidays (sometimes referred to as public holidays) all federal offices including banks and the stock exchange are closed. Employees by law are to take the day off and get full salary for the day. If the employee, for some reason, is required to work on a holiday then he or she is entitled to holiday pay on top of the regular wages or sometimes they are given another day off.

If a holiday falls on a Saturday the day off is usually a Friday, if the holidays falls on a Sunday then generally Monday will be given as a day off.

Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Valentines Day and Halloween are not official holidays but are celebrated across America but no paid day off is given for these days.

More information about Federal Holidays: Office of Personnel Management list of Federal Holidays, About Federal Holiday on the Wikipedia

More About Federal Holidays

The United States government can only recognize holidays for federal government employees. Each state has the right to determine of their own holidays, however, it is not often that a local jurisdiction overrides a holiday prescribed by federal law.

Most holidays commemorate events related to the history of the United States with the exception of New Year's Day and Christmas Day.

The summer holiday season is often referred to as a period between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Similarly, the winter holiday season runs from Thanksgiving Day to New Year's Day.

There are a great number of unoffical holidays observed nationwide including St Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Halloween, Mother's and Father's Day, Good Friday, Flag Day, Yom Kippur, Election Day, Kwanzaa, etc.

Notable days, though not holidays, are Super Tuesday, Super Bowl Sunday, Tax Day and Black Friday.

International Holidays 2008 Canadian Statutory Holidays

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