History of federal and local holidays

SUMMARY: The U.S. federal government has established eleven federal holidays, the most recent being Juneteenth. The initial four - New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas - were 'top down', i.e., initiated by Congress. Some of the others were 'bottom up', meaning that they began informally in communities, then recognized by an increasing number of states, until the federal government finally made those national. Two went through name changes. 

Santa Claus has been arriving by helicopter for
Maynard's Christmas parade since 1966

The US federal government, over a period spanning 150 years, has established eleven federal holidays. This all began in 1870 during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant with the creation of federal holidays for New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Wait - if the First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." how did we end up with a religious (Christian) federal holiday? This very question has been brought to the Supreme Court several times. The defense rests on the actual wording from 1870 - a decree that along with three new secular holidays, "December 25th...commonly called Christmas Day" would join them. There was no requirement that people attend church or pray on that day, nor any financial benefit to Christianity. In contrast, Good Friday is a state holiday in some states, but not a federal holiday. 

Once the concept of federal holidays became a reality, other joined the list. Washington's Birthday, established as a federal holiday in 1879, fell on February 22nd. In 1968, Congress passed the "Uniform Monday Holiday Act". It provided for observances of some federal holidays on Mondays, so as to create three-day weekends. After that, it became the third Monday in February. The concept of referring to it as "Presidents' Day," recognizing both Washington (Feb 22) and Lincoln (Feb 12), gained popularity, but officially, it is still "Washington's Birthday."

Memorial Park dedication ceremony, November 15, 2025. 
Three photos courtesy of Maynard Historical Society

Soon after the end of the Civil War it became common in both the North and the South to honor the war dead by decorating graves with flowers and flags. This evolved into communities and then states establishing Decoration Day as a time to hold parades that finished at cemeteries with speeches. Decoration Day became a federal employees' holiday in 1888, became one of the three-day weekends in 1968, i.e., last Monday in May, and was then officially renamed Memorial Day in 1971. The story goes that the end of May was originally chosen not to commemorate any specific Civil War battle, but rather a time when flowers would be in bloom in northern states. Today, Memorial Day is seen as the unofficial beginning of summer - and of yard sale season. 

Armistice Day 1919

Veterans' Day is the other military memorial holiday, differing in that it honors all who have served in the armed forces rather than only those who died. The date - November 11th - stems from the signing of the treaty that ended the war in Europe in 1918, hence the original name "Armistice Day." Somber, solemn celebrations on this date started occurring as early as 1919, but it was not until 1938 that it became an official U.S. federal holiday. In 1954 the name was changed to Veterans' Day. 

On November 15, 1925, the Town of Maynard dedicated Memorial Park in honor of the 361 citizens who had served in the Great War, including the eight who died in that service. Previously, the site had been occupied by the Maynard Hotel, which had burned in 1921. Information honoring those who served in World War II and subsequent military actions have since been acknowledged.

Labor Day falls on the first Monday of September and is considered the unofficial end of summer and the beginning of the school year. Toward the end of the 1800s along with the maturation of the Industrial Revolution, trade unions and labor unions gained strength. Demands for a 40-hour work week gained ground, often after industry-wide or city-wide strikes. There arose a clamor for a holiday to recognize labor. State by state, labor was becoming honored with parades, picnics and political speeches, until in 1894, Congress acted to make it a federal holiday.

Columbus Day had its origins in celebrations by Italian Americans in cities with significant Italian immigrant populations, such as New York. By 1934, Congress had persuaded the President to annually identify October 12 as Columbus Day. In 1971 the holiday was upgraded to official federal holiday and shifted to the second Monday in October.

Late to the list are the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. and Juneteenth. The former, often referred to as MLK Day, is celebrated on the third Monday of January. It was signed into law in 1983 and first celebrated in 1986. At the states level there was resistance, especially in the South (surprise!). Approval in the Senate was by a 78-22 vote and in the House by 338-90. Several states still refer to it as some combination honoring both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E. Lee. "Juneteenth" is a portmanteau of 'June' and 'nineteenth', as that was the date in 1865 that slavery was ended in Texas, the last of the Confederate states to surrender. Known also as Freedom Day and Black Independence Day, celebration and state recognitions ebbed and flowed for decades, until finally, support coalesced into federal recognition in 2021. Unlike MLK Day, this passed unanimously in the Senate and opposed by only 14 votes in the House. It was signed into law by President Biden.

National Flag Day is a wannabe. The stripes and stars design of the U.S. flag was established by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, while the Revolutionary War was still in progress. Celebrations of Flag Day grew toward the end of the 1800s, finally approved by Congress in 1949 , but not as a federal holiday. Coincidently, President Trump's birthday is June 14th. On February 14, 2025 a member of Congress proposed that "Trump's Birthday and Flag Day" become a federal holiday. As of early 2026 there has been no further Congressional action on this proposal. 

Holidays - even federally established holidays - are not immutable. Many states and cities have replaced celebration of Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day, Native American Day, or other variations on this theme. Massachusetts deems it to be Columbus Day, but Boston and many other MA cities and towns have decided for Indigenous Peoples' Day. MLK Day and Juneteenth are under pressure from President Trump during his second term. DEI programs have been terminated, the Confederacy re-recognized as a honorable part of U.S. history, and displays about slavery in national museums removed as being too negative about American history. National Parks are free admission on federal holidays, but for 2026 these two have been dropped from that list and Flag Day (not a federal holiday) added. It would take an act of Congress to officially remove a federal holiday, a process which has never happened yet, but the whitewashing of Black history is ongoing.

Stow Minutemen firing a rifle volley. The flag, with a British
Union Flag in the upper left corner, combined with 13 red
and white stripes to represent the colonies was called the
Grand Union Flag, used by Washington's Army  in 1776.

Closer to home, in 1894, Lexington proposed the anniversary of the Revolutionary War battle of April 19, 1775 be honored as "Lexington Day." Concord countered with "Concord Day." Governor Greengalge wisely countered with "Patriots' Day," ever since then a Massachusetts holiday. Locally, Patriot Minuteman reenactors march from Stow to Concord, passing through Maynard shortly after 5:00 a.m., pausing at the intersection of Concord Road and Route 27 to fire a rifle volley. The Boston Marathon had its first in 1897 (a year after the Olympic Games revival in 1896), and has continued to be held ever since. The Town of Maynard was created on April 19, 1870. The town acknowledges (but fails to celebrate) the date as Founders' Day.

P.S. If holiday sales shopping is your thing, check out https://www.dontpayfull.com/explore/shopping-sales-calendar for the types of items that go on sale during major holidays - also minor holidays, such as April 2nd being National Burrito Day. 

Click on photos to enlarge. To access hundreds of past columns from Maynard Voice and the Beacon-Villager, visit www.maynardlifeoutdoors.com There is an index.