Holidays and observances in United States 2024

Americans love a good holiday — especially when it means time off of work or a long weekend. From the somber to the outlandish, each year is filled with a variety of opportunities to come together, celebrate, share, and (usually) shop. Here are some of the biggest holidays only celebrated in the good ol’ U.S.A.

With 50 different states and a bundle of different races, cultures and nations, the United States of America has a large cultural and historical heritage, and these cultures are all celebrated through various festivals and events. While many tourists visit the United States of America to admire the big cities or the beautiful parks, the festivals in America are a big part of what makes the country so great and are definitely worth attending.

Referring most broadly to periods of time free from work, the word “holiday” is derived from the word “holyday,” and refers generally to special days of celebration and commemoration. These can be based on religion, politics, or regional, ethnic, or racial affiliation, and may or may not be officially recognized.

List of Important Holidays and observances in United States 2024

Holidays and observances in United States

New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day is an optional holiday. Employment and holiday laws in India allow employees to choose a limited number of holidays from a list of optional holidays. Some employees may choose to take the day off on this day, however, most offices and businesses remain open.

In many countries, New Year’s celebrations begin on the evening of December 31—New Year’s Eve—and continue into the early hours of January 1. Revelers often enjoy meals and snacks thought to bestow good luck for the coming year. In Spain and several other Spanish-speaking countries, people bolt down a dozen grapes-symbolizing their hopes for the months ahead-right before midnight. In many parts of the world, traditional New Year’s dishes feature legumes, which are thought to resemble coins and herald future financial success;

Date: Sunday, 1 January, 2024
Event Length: 1 Day
Celebrations: Making New Year’s resolutions, church services, parades, sporting events, fireworks
Significance: The first day of the Gregorian year
Observed by: Users of the Gregorian calendar and calendars where months are based on Gregorian calendar

Nurses Day

International Nurses Day (IND) is an international day celebrated around the world on 12 May (the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth) of each year, to mark the contributions nurses make to society.

Celebrations Internationally

Australia: The Australian Nurse of the Year is announced at a ceremony at one of the state’s capital cities. Additionally, in each of the Australian states and territories, various nursing ceremonies are conducted during the week.

China: In 2007, 5000 nurses gathered in Yichun, East China’s Jiangxi Province. Each year nurses in Chinese hospitals recite the Florence Nightingale Pledge.

India: President of India present the National Florence Nightingale Awards to 35 nursing professionals on International Nurses Day.

Themes

2011 – Closing The Gap: Increasing Access and Equity

2012 – Closing The Gap: From Evidence to Action

2013 – Closing The Gap: Millennium Development Goals

2014 – Nurses: A Force for Change – A vital resource for health

2015 – Nurses: A Force for Change: Care Effective, Cost Effective

2016 – Nurses: A Force for Change: Improving Health Systems’ Resilience

2017 – Nurses: A voice to lead – Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

2018 – Nurses: A voice to lead – Health is a Human Right

Labor Day

Labor Day is one of the ten federal holidays in the United States. It is observed on the first Monday of September. Labor Day celebrates workers and their various labor unions that contribute to the growing American economy. It is a national tribute to workers’ contributions to the prosperity and the well being of the country. The holiday came to be through tireless efforts of the labor movement in the 19th century. The day has a bloody history as workers fought for their rights.
Which Countries Celebrate Labor Day In September?: Although most countries mark Labor Day on 1st May, some parts of the world celebrate the Labor Day in September. These include the US, Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone, Virgin Islands and Canada.

Inauguration Day

Washington is preparing for unrest, and planners urge people not to attend during a pandemic, but virtual events are intended to keep up the spirit of celebration. Two major celebrities will participate in the swearing-in ceremony: Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem and Jennifer Lopez will give a musical performance.

National Day of Prayer

Throughout our history, prayer has been an anchor for countless Americans searching for strength and wisdom in times of struggle and sharing hope and gratitude in seasons of joy. In public reflections on life’s many blessings and in quiet moments during life’s most difficult trials, Americans of nearly every background and faith have turned to prayer for comfort and inspiration. Prayer is a sacred right protected by free speech and religious liberty enshrined in our Constitution, and it continues to lift our spirits as we navigate the challenges of our time.
Who created this day? The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.

Grandparent’s Day

Our grandparents play a huge role in our lives. They are at the top of our family trees. They provide us with guidance and wisdom, and a lot of us have fond memories of bedtime stories and family occasions with our grandparents. Grandparent’s Day provides us with the perfect opportunity to honor our grandmothers and grandfathers. Read on to discover everything you need to know.

When Is It Celebrated?
Grandparents Day is celebrated the Sunday after Labor Day in the United States. It is considered an observance, rather than a public holiday

President’s Day

“Washington’s Birthday was celebrated on February 22nd until well into the 20th Century. However, in 1968 Congress passed the Monday Holiday Law to ‘provide uniform annual observances of certain legal public holidays on Mondays.’ By creating more 3-day weekends, Congress hoped to ‘bring substantial benefits to both the spiritual and economic life of the Nation.’

Memorial Day

No, Memorial Day isn’t about a long weekend road trip, backyard barbecue or sales. The real meaning of the national holiday is much more somber. Originally called Decoration Day, Monday’s holiday honors all soldiers who died during service to the nation. Memorial Day was declared a national holiday through an act of Congress in 1971, and its roots date back to the Civil War era, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Sweetest Day

To put it simply, Sweetest Day every October 15, is a day to be sweet by sharing a kind thought, a small gift or a gesture of kindness. It’s a day to give a card with a sweet message to someone you appreciate. Little gifts of candy and other sweets are shared, as well. Sweetest Day hails from all the way back in 1922 when a dozen of Cleveland’s candy companies banded together to make the day a little sweeter for some of the city’s most vulnerable people. they distributed more than 20,000 boxes of candy to “newsboys, orphans, old folks, and the poor.”

St. Patrick’s Day

In several countries, St Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17 as a commemoration of Irish culture and history. It is a national holiday in the Republic of Ireland as well as Northern Ireland in the UK.

Independence Day

Independence Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America

Mother-in-Law’s Day

National Mother-In-Law Day is an annual celebration commemorated on October 23 of this year. It is a day for those men and women to show their love towards their mother-in-law. They are the next beautiful souls after a mother who treats her in-laws like their child. Express your love towards her with a special celebration day for your mother-by-bond. National Mother-In-Law

April Fool’s Day

April Fool’s Day is on 1 April. It’s the custom in the UK to play a trick or a joke on someone on this day. If the person falls for the joke, then they are called an ‘April Fool’. In fact, it’s only half a day because April Fool’s Day finishes at midday. No more jokes after lunchtime, please! In the 1990s Burger King published an advert in the magazine USA Today offering new ‘Left-handed Whoppers’ (hamburgers) for the 32 million left-handed Americans! Thousands of customers ordered the new burger in the restaurants. The free London newspaper, Metro, came up with a novel idea to deal with the problem of litter on the underground (unfortunately it was only a joke). They said that the newspaper was now edible – ‘the only paper that you can eat after reading’.

Parent’s Day

While Mother’s and Father’s days were first officially celebrated in the early 1900s, (and National Grandpa Day is already approaching its 40 year anniversary); National Parents’ Day wasn’t established until 1994. That’s when President Bill Clinton signed a Congressional Resolution “recognizing, uplifting, and supporting the role of parents in bringing up their children.” Well said!
Where would we be without our parents, the people who loved us even before we were born? They do so much for us every day of our young lives and the love doesn’t stop once we’re adults. That’s why it’s good to honor them on their special day, National Parents’ Day July 23, celebrated on the fourth Sunday in July.

Navy Day

Navy Day in India is celebrated on 4 December every year to recognize the achievements and role of the Indian Navy to the country. 4 December was chosen as on that day in 1971, during Operation Trident, the Indian Navy sank four Pakistani vessels including PNS Khaibar, killing hundreds of Pakistani Navy personnel

Easter

Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD.

Date: , 9 April, 2024
Event Length: 1 Day
Celebrations: Church services, festive family meals, Easter egg decoration, and gift-giving
Significance: Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus
Observances: Prayer, all-night vigil, sunrise service

Friendship Day

Our world faces many challenges, crises and forces of division — such as poverty, violence, and human rights abuses — among many others — that undermine peace, security, development and social harmony among the world’s peoples.

To confront those crises and challenges, their root causes must be addressed by promoting and defending a shared spirit of human solidarity that takes many forms — the simplest of which is friendship.

Halloween Day

Help spread the joy of Halloween far and wide by utilizing this treasure trove of Halloween images, itching to dress up your Facebook posts, Zoom backgrounds, PowerPoint presentations and wallpapers. Also, why not apply them to a T-shirt design or even have a go at drawing your own designs?. Halloween or Hallowe’en, less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day.

Date: Monday, 31 October, 2022 Trending
Observed by: Western Christians and many non-Christians around the world
Significance: First day of Allhallowtide
Also called: Hallowe’en, All Hallowe’en, All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Eve

Earth Day

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 that celebrates the planet Earth and raises public awareness about environmental issues. The day is observed worldwide with rallies, conferences, school projects and other activities. Sen. Gaylord Nelson started Earth Day in 1970. The event helped increase public support for the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address environmental issues. Earth Day has since contributed to the passage of many environmental laws in the U.S.

Veterans Day

The United States observes Veterans Day on November 11 each year. The public holiday pays homage to U.S. Armed Forces veterans. Formerly it was called Armistice Day. Just in case you are wondering, the holiday is written without an apostrophe because it is a plural noun and not a possessive noun. The day does not belong to veterans; rather, it is a day to honor all veterans, not only those who perished during World War I.

The History Of Veterans Day

• World War I was fought for four years, three months and two weeks.
• It started on July 28, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918.
• The war was fought in Europe, the Middle East, off the coast of North and South America, the Indian Ocean, China, the Pacific Islands and Africa.

Administrative Professionals’ Day

Administrative Professionals Day is a day observed yearly in a small number of countries. It is not a public holiday in any of them. In some countries, it falls within Administrative Professionals Week.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan.
What is the real story of Thanksgiving?: In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states

Hanukkah

The date of Hanukkah changes every year, because it depends on the calendar, but it will always fall in November or December, it lasts for eight days and might also be called Chanukah. Hanukkah commemorates the victory in 164 B.C. of a group of Jewish people (the Maccabees) over the Syrian Greeks, who had been occupying the Land of Israel since before 167 B.C. Not only had the Greeks destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, but they also banned the practice of Judaism entirely. After a three-year fight, the Maccabees liberated the Temple—and won the Jewish people the right to practice their religion.

Christmas

Christmas is America’s No. 1 favorite holiday—85% of us celebrate it. Here’s how Christmas started and why we have the traditions we do. Christmas is an annual sacred Christian holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, the spiritual leader and founder of Christianity. While many people celebrate Christmas to honor Jesus’s birth, it’s also celebrated as a cultural holiday across the globe.

Date: Monday 25 December, 2024
Also called: Noël, Nativity, Xmas
Observed for: 1,686 years
Celebrations: Gift-giving, family and other social gatherings, symbolic decoration, feasting etc
Significance: Commemoration of the nativity of Jesus
Observed by: Christians, many non-Christians

When is Christmas?
Christmas is always celebrated in America on the 25th of December, but the day of the week rotates. Here are the days of the week Christmas falls on for the next five years:

Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024
Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025
Friday, Dec. 25, 2026

Kwanzaa 2024 – Holidays – The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Kwanzaa begins on Monday, December 26, and lasts through Sunday, January 1, 2024. Kwanzaa is a week-long holiday held annually from December 26 to January 1. Fundamentally, it celebrates family, culture, community, and the harvest. The word “Kwanzaa” itself comes from the Kiswahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning “first fruits [of the harvest].”

Kwanzaa focuses on seven essential principles, known as the Nguzo Saba, which are each represented by one day of the seven-day celebration. These principles are unity (umoja), self-determination (kujichagulia), collective work and responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba), and faith (imani).

Mother’s Day

Historians believe it evolved from the 16th-century Christian practice of visiting mothers in the season of Lent. The date changes every year because it is linked to Easter, and Easter varies depending on the lunar calendar.
Which date is International mother day? While many countries observe this day in the month of May, there are others that celebrate the day in the month of March. International Mother’s Day is celebrated and observed on the second Sunday in the month of May. Mother’s Day will be celebrated on May 8

Armed Forces Day

Since 1949, 7th December is observed as the Armed Forces Flag Day throughout the country to honour the martyrs and the men in uniform who valiantly fought & continue to fight on our borders to safeguard the country’s honour.

Citizenship Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Groundhog Day

National Children’s Day

Super Bowl Sunday

Juneteenth

Columbus Day

Valentine’s Day

Father’s Day

Boss’s Day