Federal Holidays: What are Federal Holidays?

The following Federal holidays are established by law (5 U.S.C. 6103):

• New Year’s Day (January 1).
• Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Third Monday in January).
• Washington’s Birthday (Third Monday in February).
• Memorial Day (Last Monday in May).
• Independence Day (July 4).
• Labor Day (First Monday in September).
• Columbus Day (Second Monday in October).
• Veterans Day (November 11).
• Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November).
• Christmas Day (December 25).

What is Juneteenth Federal Holiday?

Juneteenth National Independence Day, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States, became a federal holiday last year in 2021.

Nearly half of states now recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday.

Juneteenth is a combination of the words June and nineteenth. It commemorates the day, more than two months after the end of the Civil War, when enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom. It is now one of 11 official federal holidays.