The Uniform Monday Holiday Act () is an
Act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...
that moved permanently to a Monday three
Federal holidays in the United States
Federal holidays in the United States are the eleven calendar dates that are designated by the U.S. government as holidays. On U.S. federal holidays, non-essential federal government offices are closed and federal government employees are paid ...
—
Washington's Birthday (colloquially Presidents’ Day),
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
, and
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
—and that made
Columbus Day a federal holiday, also permanently on a Monday. This created long weekends with three days off ending with the holidays, such as
Memorial Day Weekend and
Labor Day Weekend
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United S ...
.
Veterans Day
Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than dis ...
was moved from November 11 to the fourth Monday in October but in 1978 it was returned to November 11, the actual date of the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
(see
Armistice of 11 November 1918
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...
) and celebrated in several European countries as
Armistice Day.
The Act was signed into law on June 1, 1968, and took effect on January 1, 1971.
[''An Act to provide for uniform annual observances of certain legal public holidays on Mondays, and for other purposes'', .]
Background
The Act was designed to increase the number of
three-day weekends for federal employees, a favorite goal of the travel industry.
Veterans Day was removed from this list of "always-on-Monday" holidays when it was moved back to its
traditional date of November 11, by act of Congress in 1975, effective 1978.
This Act did not officially change the name of
Washington's Birthday to "Presidents Day", nor did it combine Washington's Birthday with
Lincoln's Birthday
Lincoln's Birthday is a legal, public holiday in some U.S. states, observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville (Hodgensville, Hodgen's Mill), Kentucky.Cal. Gov. Code �6700(c) Connecticut, Illinois, ...
, despite suggestions that those two changes be made.
Many U.S. states have adopted some version of the "Presidents Day" name. The perception that the name was changed stems from the fact that the act placed federal observance of Washington's Birthday in the week of February 15 to 21 and, since that week always falls between Lincoln's birthday (February 12) and Washington's (February 22), but never includes either date, popular references have given rise to the title, which recognizes both Presidents.
[ a dozen U.S. states officially refer to the holiday as "Presidents' Day."] The Lincoln's Birthday holiday with very limited exceptions is no longer observed at all (at least on its actual date, though some states combine it with Washington's Birthday).
Though the holiday was not in existence at the time, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday (established 1983, first observed 1986) is celebrated on the third Monday in January, which falls on January 15–21, instead of King's actual birth date, January 15, for the same reasons.
Effects
The Monday holiday dates this act established are:
* Washington's Birthday: third Monday in February (formerly February 22)
* Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
: last Monday in May (formerly May 30)
* Columbus Day: second Monday in October (previously observed only in some states on October 12)
* Veterans Day
Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than dis ...
: fourth Monday in October (was November 11 prior to the act and returned to November 11 in 1978)
Also celebrated on Monday:
* Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday: third Monday in January
See also
*Happy Monday System
The is a set of modifications to Japanese law in 1998 and 2001 to move a number of public holidays in Japan to Mondays, creating three-day weekends for those with five-day work weeks. It is the Japanese equivalent of the 1968 Uniform Monday Ho ...
(similar legislation in Japan)
* Title 5 of the United States Code
*Title 36 of the United States Code
The United States Code is the official compilation of the Federal laws of a general and permanent nature that are currently in force. Title 36 cover, "Patriotic and National Observances, Ceremonies, and Organizations."
Parts
Subtitle I: Patrio ...
References
External links
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{{Federal holidays in the United States
1968 in law
United States federal legislation
Monday
United States federal legislation articles without infoboxes