Postal holiday

In the United States, a postal holiday is a Federal holiday recognized by the United States Postal Service, during which no regular mail is delivered, however Priority Mail Express items will still be delivered as that service functions year round.

Though letter carriers have the day off, some postal workers are required to work on holidays, such as clerks dispatching mail, or those working in plant distribution facilities. Some plant facilities operate 365 days a year.

Part 608, section 3.2 of the DMM (U.S. Domestic Mail Manual) groups holidays into "Widely Observed" and "Not Widely Observed". Holidays "Widely Observed" include New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Holidays "Not Widely Observed" are Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday; Presidents Day; Columbus Day; and Veterans Day.

If a holiday occurs on Sunday, the holiday will be observed on Monday.

List of holidays

The ten postal holidays are:

Date	Official Name	Remarks
January 1	New Year's Day	Celebrates beginning of the Gregorian calendar year. Festivities include countdowns to midnight.
Third Monday in January	Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.	Honors Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights leader; combined with other holidays in several states (traditionally January 15)
Third Monday in February	Washington's Birthday	Honors George Washington, born February 22. Often popularly observed as "Presidents Day" in recognition of other American presidents.
Last Monday in May	Memorial Day	Honors the American soldiers who have died in military service; unofficially marks the beginning of summer. (traditionally May 30)
July 4	Independence Day	Celebrates Declaration of Independence, usually called the Fourth of July.
First Monday in September	Labor Day	Celebrate achievements of workers and the labor movement; unofficially marks the end of summer and the return to school for students in most parts of the United States.
Second Monday in October	Columbus Day	Honors Christopher Columbus, traditional discoverer of the Americas. In some areas it is also a celebration of Italian culture and heritage. (traditionally October 12)
November 11	Veterans Day	Honors all veterans of the United States armed forces.
Fourth Thursday in November	Thanksgiving Day	Traditionally celebrates giving thanks for the autumn harvest, and customarily includes the consumption of a turkey dinner.
December 25	Christmas Day	Celebrates the Nativity of Jesus which is traditionally observed on December 25. Secular aspects of this holiday include giving gifts and decorating a Christmas tree.

This list is nearly identical to the list of Federal holidays, but does not include inauguration day. If a postal holiday falls on a Sunday, it is observed on the following Monday.

Canada Post also maintains a list of Postal Holidays.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Postal Service.