As an Aussie who’s relatively new to the US, I’ve been really confused on more than one occasion about the seemingly “optional” nature of US Public Holidays. While there seems to be something every month that is enough to shut down the Post Office and occasionally the bank, there are actually only a few of these public holidays where it is customary for “normal businesses” to close for the day.
Of course, getting a list of the “real” holidays vs the government worker holidays is a bit like that line from “A Few Good Men” when Lt Kaffee (Tom Cruise) asks Cpl Barnes (Noah Wyle) where the mess hall is in the official Marine Corps manual: “I guess I just followed the crowd at chow time, Sir”.
Of course, this creates a few problems if you’re trying to manage a team and you don’t know where to lead them at chow time. So, here’s the list I’ve been able to compile of the “real” holidays in the US in the process of building AffinityLive:
Yep, that’s it. President’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day and all manner of other magic days aren’t days where you’d call your lawyer, accountant or other professional/office type business and expect to get a “we’re not here – it is a holiday” response.
geoffmcqueen.com 