United States federal observances are days, weeks, months, or other periods designated by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
for the commemoration or other observance of various events, activities, or topics. These observances differ from federal holidays in that federal employees only receive a day free from work on holidays, not observances. Federal observances that are designated by
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
appear in Title 36 of the
United States Code ( et seq.). Below is a list of all observances so designated. Note that not all of the laws below require that the observance be declared, in some cases, such as , Congress simply requested the president to issue a proclamation of the observance. They are published a
Pub. L. 105–225, Aug. 12, 1998
Pub. L. 105–225, Aug. 12, 1998
Pub. L. 105–225, Aug. 12, 1998
an
The president may also declare selected federal observances by presidential proclamation. Those observances are referenced at the List of observances in the United States by presidential proclamation.
List of observances
Days
Weeks
Months
Other
References
{{US Holidays, state=autocollapse
External links
National Health Observances
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, US Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
.
Federal government of the United States