Holidays & Observances in 2024

Who Actually Gets Federal Holidays Off?

Federal holidays are official days off for federal workers, but they are not required days off for private companies. For the rules behind each one — how the dates are set and why some shift — see the evergreen US federal holidays guide. In practice, who closes falls into three groups:

• Almost always closed: banks, the post office, the stock and bond markets, government offices and most schools — on all 11 holidays.
• Usually closed: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas — observed by nearly every employer.
• Often a normal workday: Columbus Day and Veterans Day are the two most people still work.

If a date matters for your plans, check your own employer's list, then mark your real days off on a printable monthly calendar.

Federal Holidays vs. Observances

The list above mixes two kinds of dates. Here's the simple difference:

• Federal holidays are set by law. When one lands on a weekend, it moves to an observed weekday — Saturday shifts to the Friday before, Sunday shifts to the Monday after.
• Observances like Valentine's Day, Halloween or Mother's Day are cultural. Nothing closes and the date never shifts, but they are the days people plan dinners, parties and school events around.

Our calendars mark both, and each holiday links to a detail page — for example when is Easter — with the exact date for the next ten years.