{"id":8262,"date":"2025-07-27T11:43:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T23:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/?p=8262"},"modified":"2025-07-27T11:43:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T23:43:39","slug":"how-national-holidays-are-created-the-behind-the-scenes-process-you-never-knew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/how-national-holidays-are-created-the-behind-the-scenes-process-you-never-knew\/","title":{"rendered":"How National Holidays Are Created: The Behind-the-Scenes Process You Never Knew"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"<\/p>\n

Hey there, holiday lovers! It\u2019s your go-to guide for all things celebrations\u2014Holiday Little Assistant. Today, we\u2019re diving into a question that\u2019s crossed everyone\u2019s mind at least once: How does a day even become a national holiday?<\/b> Whether you\u2019re daydreaming about a new day off or just curious about the process, let\u2019s break it down together. <\/p>\n

So, How *Does* a National Holiday Get Created? <\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not as simple as wishing for a three-day weekend (if only!). In the U.S., national holidays\u2014aka federal holidays\u2014are officially recognized only after Congress passes a law<\/b>, and the President signs it. Here\u2019s the step-by-step scoop: <\/p>\n

1. **The Proposal**: It usually starts with an idea\u2014maybe to honor a historical event (like Juneteenth) or a group (hello, Labor Day). Advocacy groups, lawmakers, or even passionate citizens push for it.
\n2. **Bill Drafting**: A member of Congress introduces a bill proposing the holiday. For example, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee championed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.
\n3. **Committee Review**: The bill goes to a committee (often Judiciary or Oversight), where it\u2019s debated. Critics might argue about costs (federal holidays mean paid leave for gov\u2019t employees).
\n4. **Voting**: If the committee approves, the full House and Senate vote. Passing requires majority support in both.
\n5. **Presidential Approval**: Once Congress says “yes,” the President signs it into law\u2014or vetoes it (rare for holidays, but possible).
\n6. **Implementation**: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) updates the federal holiday calendar, and voil\u00e0\u2014new day off! <\/p>\n

Why Don\u2019t We Have More Holidays? <\/h2>\n

Great question! The U.S. only has 11 federal holidays<\/b>, way fewer than some countries (looking at you, Cambodia with 28!). Why? Money and momentum. Each holiday costs billions in lost productivity and wages. Plus, building consensus takes years<\/i>. Juneteenth, for instance, was celebrated locally for over a century before becoming federal in 2021. <\/p>\n

Can States Create Their Own Holidays? <\/h2>\n

Absolutely! States can declare holidays that aren\u2019t federal\u2014like Native American Day in South Dakota or Patriots\u2019 Day in Massachusetts. These apply to state workers and schools, but private employers don\u2019t have to observe them. Pro tip: Check your state\u2019s calendar for extra long weekends! <\/p>\n

Fun Fact: The Weirdest Holiday Proposals <\/h2>\n

Over the years, lawmakers have proposed some wild holidays, like:
\n– **National Procrastination Day** (ironically, it never gained traction).
\n– **National Thank a Mailman Day** (shout-out to postal workers!).
\nMost fizzle out, but hey, it\u2019s the thought that counts. <\/p>\n

To sum it up: Creating a national holiday takes legal muscle, public support, and time<\/b>. While we might not get a “National Pizza Day” off anytime soon (sigh), now you know how the magic happens! <\/p>\n

Faqpro Thanks for hanging out with me, folks! Hope this spills the tea on how holidays are born. Got another burning question? Hit me up\u2014I\u2019m always here to nerd out about celebrations. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey there, holiday lovers! It\u2019s your go-to guide for all things celebrations\u2014Holiday Little Assistant. Today, we\u2019re diving into a question that\u2019s crossed everyone\u2019s mind at least once: How does a day even become a national holiday? Whether you\u2019re daydreaming about a new day off or just curious about the process, let\u2019s break it down together….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","slim_seo":{"title":"How National Holidays Are Created: The Behind-the-Scenes Process You Never Knew - Public Holiday Calendar","description":"Hey there, holiday lovers! It\u2019s your go-to guide for all things celebrations\u2014Holiday Little Assistant. Today, we\u2019re diving into a question that\u2019s crossed everyo"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[278],"tags":[6985,8098,6984,8099,2330],"class_list":["post-8262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-holiday-approval-process","tag-how-holidays-are-made","tag-national-holiday-creation","tag-new-holiday-legislation","tag-u-s-federal-holidays"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8262"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8263,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8262\/revisions\/8263"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}