Holidays of the United States

US Public Holidays

The US has a number of holidays - official and/or cultural - of which the traveller should be aware. Many of these holidays are observed on Mondays so that there is a three-day extended weekend. (A weekend consists of a Saturday and a Sunday.)

• New Years Day (January 1) - most businesses closed; brunches and football parties.
• Martin Luther King Day (third Monday in January) - many government offices and banks closed; speeches.
• St. Valentine's Day (February 14) - private celebration of romance and love.
• Presidents Day (third Monday in February) - (also Washington's Birthday) - government offices and banks closed; many stores have sales.
• St. Patrick's Day (March 17) - Irish-themed parades and parties.
• Easter (a Sunday in March or April) - Christian religious observances.
• Passover (one week around Easter) - Jewish religious observances.
• Memorial Day (last Monday in May) - most non-retail/tourism businesses closed; some patriotic observances; trips to beaches and parks; beginning of summer tourism season.
• Independence Day / Fourth of July (July 4) - most businesses closed; patriotic parades, cookouts and trips to beaches and parks, fireworks at dusk.
• Labor Day (first Monday in September) - most businesses closed; cookouts and tips to beaches and parks; traditional ending of summer tourism season.
• Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (autumn) - Jewish religious observances.
• Columbus Day (second Monday in October) - many government offices and banks closed; sales.
• Halloween (October 31) - trick-or-treating, parades, and costume parties.
• Veterans Day (November 11) - government offices and banks closed; some patriotic observances.
• Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November) - government offices and most businesses closed; family dinners, on Friday major Christmas shopping begins.
• Christmas (December 25) - most businesses and restaurants closed the evening before and all day; exchanging gifts, Christian religious observances.

More info on USA available in the USA Tourist Information main page.

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