New Year’s Eve is the last day of the year and is celebrated heavily across the globe. Many businesses and services are closed on this special day to make way for the grand celebrations welcoming the new year. But, is New Year’s Eve an official federal holiday?
The festive season officially begins on Christmas Eve and concludes on New Year’s Day. Amidst these, there are a number of official and unofficial holidays. New Year’s Eve, which is always on the last day of the year, is one of them which include massive celebrations.
The most prominent part of the New Year’s Eve celebration is the Times Square ball drop where the ball descends down a specially designed flagpole to mark the beginning of the new year.
Is New Year’s Eve a Federal Holiday?
No. New Year’s Eve (December 31st) is not a federal holiday. For context, Federal Holidays are the calendar dates that are designated by the U.S. government as holidays. There are eleven federal holidays.
On federal holidays, non-essential federal government offices such as banks and post offices are closed and the employees get paid leave. Notably, New Year’s Eve is not among the eleven dates designated as federal holidays in the United States.
However, New Year’s Eve is still an unofficial holiday across the United States as that’s when the celebrations begin to bid farewell to the existing year and welcome the upcoming year. There are lights, fireworks, feasts, and a lot more things.
Parties begin in the early evening and continue till late at night. Large crowds also gather at Times Square to witness the famous ball drop in person while countless others watch the live stream online.
Most Businesses & Services are Open on New Year’s Eve
Since New Year’s Eve is not a federal holiday, most businesses and services remain open on the day. This includes banks, schools, post offices, grocery stores, schools, and other shops as well as offices.
However, New Year’s Eve is on Saturday this year. So, the businesses and services that are closed on weekends will not be operating. You should also remember that most stores will close early on New Year’s Eve such as Target, Walmart, etc.
This is because the celebrations to welcome the new year begin in the evening and their staff needs to be with their loved ones on the special occasion.
Is New Year’s Day a Federal Holiday?
Yes. New Year’s Day is one of the eleven dates designated as a federal holiday. On this day (January 1), most businesses, services, and stores remain closed to observe the national holiday.
This allows citizens to complete the celebrations without any disturbances and have a great start to the year. There are a number of activities across the nation including parades, feasts, and other shenanigans.
New Year’s Day 2023 Federal Holiday is on January 2nd This Time
This time, New Year’s Day is on a Sunday. As a result, the New Year’s Day federal holiday will be observed on Monday, January 2, 2023. Subsequently, most businesses and services will also remain closed on Monday including banks, post offices, etc.
“If the holiday falls during the weekend, the government may observe it on a different day,” states the official text from the government of the United States.
It’s going to be a really long weekend and that too, twice in a row. Christmas was also on Sunday and the national holiday was observed on Monday, as a result. You’ll have plenty of time doing what you love and around your loved ones.
What are your plans then? Feel free to share them with us in the comments.
