US Federal Holidays 2017There are 10 federal holidays celebrated each year in the United States. Federal holidays that fall on Saturday are celebrated on the preceding Friday and federal holidays that fall on Sunday will be celebrated on the following Monday.
| Date | Federal Holiday | # Days |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, January 1 | New Years Day 2017 | -2914 |
| Monday, January 2 | New Years Day 2017 (observed) | -2913 |
| Monday, January 16 | Martin Luther King Day 2017 | -2899 |
| Monday, February 20 | Presidents Day 2017 * | -2864 |
| Monday, May 29 | Memorial Day 2017 | -2766 |
| Tuesday, July 4 | Independence Day 2017 | -2730 |
| Monday, September 4 | Labor Day 2017 | -2668 |
| Monday, October 9 | Columbus Day 2017 ** | -2633 |
| Friday, November 10 | Veterans Day 2017 (observed) | -2601 |
| Saturday, November 11 | Veterans Day 2017 | -2600 |
| Thursday, November 23 | Thanksgiving 2017 | -2588 |
| Monday, December 25 | Christmas Day 2017 | -2556 |
Federal Holidays by Year: 20242025202620272028
The federal holidays listed above are designated by the United States Congress in Title V of the United States Code (5 U.S.C. 6103). Congress has the authority to designate holidays for government (federal) institutions so many other state and private institutions like businesses, banks, schools, and post offices have followed along and have included federal holidays as paid days off for their workers. Many state and local governments will have additional holidays off for their workers depending on their own local culture and history. The first official federal holidays began back on June 28th 1870 when congress wanted to correspond to state holidays that were in place and made federal holidays for federal employees located in the District of Columbia law. Later in 1885 the first four Federal Holidays (New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day) where extended to all federal employees in the country.
* Presidents Day also known as Washingtons Birthday is celebrated by the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming.
** Columbus Day is celebrated by the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia.