# Is Juneteenth always the 19th for U.S. Federal observation or does it move like some other holidays? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2021, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566 "2021-06-18T19:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/1 "2021-06-18T19:29:26Z")
I thought I saw that June 18 is going to be the day next year, but perhaps I read wrong? I know the date is supposed to be June 19, but in terms of observing it federally, it it going to move like MLK day or is it always going to be on June 19? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/2 "2021-06-18T19:36:24Z")
The law (_S.475 — 117th Congress_) specifies June 19. Here’s the text from _5 U.S. Code § 6103 - Holidays_: New Year’s Day, January 1. Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., the third Monday in January. Washington’s Birthday, the third Monday in February. Memorial Day, the last Monday in May. Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 19 Independence Day, July 4. Labor Day, the first Monday in September. Columbus Day, the second Monday in October. Veterans Day, November 11. Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November. Christmas Day, December 25. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/3 "2021-06-18T19:45:25Z")
All I’ve heard is talk that some people would get off on Friday or Monday when the holiday was on a weekend. Maybe that’s where this idea started? ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/4 "2021-06-18T19:52:16Z")
I work for DC schools and got the day off today. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/5 "2021-06-18T19:52:34Z")
As a former Federal employee, I know that the policy is that for those holidays which have a specific date, if the date falls on a Saturday then employees get Friday off, and if the holiday falls on a Sunday then employees get Monday off. If the holiday is on a Saturday, then there would be mail delivery on Friday but not Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/6 "2021-06-18T20:30:00Z")
I am a consultant for a Government agency. We were informed that today (Friday the 18th) is the day off for Juneteenth. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/7 "2021-06-18T20:53:08Z")
March, April, and August are the 3 months that do not contain a national holiday. Nice little trivia question, that. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/8 "2021-06-19T14:42:40Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > for those holidays which have a specific date, if the date falls on a Saturday then employees get Friday off, and if the holiday falls on a Sunday then employees get Monday off This. Just like Independence Day is always July 4th, but this year that date falls on a Sunday so July 5th is when the holiday will be observed. Juneteenth is always June 19th. Other holidays “move” because they are not tied to a specific date: for example, as **Little\_Nemo** shared, MLK Day is the third Monday of every January. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/9 "2021-06-19T14:48:55Z")
Yeah, but the Holiday is the 19th. We’ll get the 5th of July off this year too. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/10 "2021-06-19T17:15:04Z")
That was not the question. The question from the Op is [Is Juneteenth always the 19th for U.S. Federal observation or does it move like some other holidays?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566) and the answer is, yes, it moves and this year if moved to Friday the 18th. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/11 "2021-06-19T17:25:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > and the answer is, yes, it moves and this year if moved to Friday the 18th. Only to the extent that _all_ Federal holidays move if they fall on a weekend. It is not like MLK, TG, etc. that move every year. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/12 "2021-06-19T17:45:35Z")
Why is it called “teenth” instead of 19th or 18th? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/13 "2021-06-19T17:59:17Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Other holidays “move” because they are not tied to a specific date: for example, as **Little\_Nemo** shared, MLK Day is the third Monday of every January. I wish they’d specify all holidays that way, like MLK and Thanksgiving and President’s Day. It’s annoying to have to figure out the “real” holiday date every year. The spacing of the holidays is all screwed up too. Like why on earth, after scrambling for child care for the last weeks of the year, do we get hit with MLK day day just 3 weeks after New Years? Move it to the end of February to wrap up Black History Month. Move Presidents’ Day to the end of March where we need another holiday. I’m sure George Washington and MLK wouldn’t mind. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/14 "2021-06-19T19:18:07Z")
The lack of federal holidays in March and April might be due in part to Easter, which moves about a great deal in those two months. You wouldn’t want a holiday which sometimes happens to fall right on Easter (or, for always-Monday holidays, the day after Easter). ---
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/15 "2021-06-19T20:54:35Z")
And most of Europe has the entire month of August off. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/16 "2021-06-19T21:51:07Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why is it called “teenth” instead of 19th or 18th? Because that’s what the former slaves called it when they started celebrating the anniversary of learning that they were free. The government decided the holiday’s formal/legal name, but did not coin “Juneteenth.” > **[The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth](https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth)** > > Juneteenth is an often overlooked event in our nation’s history. On June 19, 1865, Union troops freed enslaved African Americans in Galveston Bay and across Texas some two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation... > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > It’s annoying to have to figure out the “real” holiday date every year. Holidays with fixed dates are no harder to figure out than the others. As **LurkMeister** said, if a fixed date falls on a weekend it’s observed on the nearest weekday — in terms of federal offices being closed, mail not being delivered, etc. (getting July 5th off this year doesn’t mean that Independence Day won’t be celebrated on July 4th, just like having yesterday off doesn’t mean that Juneteenth isn’t celebrated today). You just have to look up what day of the week a fixed holiday falls on, which is no more difficult than looking up the date of, say, the fourth Thursday in November. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/17 "2021-06-20T00:11:36Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Because that’s what the former slaves called it when they started celebrating the anniversary of learning that they were free. The government decided the holiday’s formal/legal name, but did not coin “Juneteenth.” I understand that, but why did freed slaves call it “Juneteenth” instead of “June 19th” or “Freedom Day”? Juneteenth makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/18 "2021-06-20T00:20:47Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I understand that, but why did freed slaves call it “Juneteenth” instead of “June 19th” or “Freedom Day”? Juneteenth makes no sense. [I guess it is just June + 19th, but I don’t get why it happened. Here is an article from 1891 calling it that.](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21078844/brenham-weekly-banner/) ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/19 "2021-06-20T00:38:51Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Juneteenth makes no sense. I feel I have to mention a pet peeve of mine on a related subject: the rhyme “Remember, remember, the Xth of Blahember” is not useful for remembering the exact day or month involved, although it does narrow down the month a good bit. I know it’s November, but i never remember the day even though I remember the rest of the gunpowder treason and plot rhyme. Not a useful rhyme IMO at all, in the same way that Juneteenth only narrows down the day somewhat and doesn’t do it precisely. People are not going to remember very well which day precisely Juneteenth falls on unless they’ve been celebrating it before it became a federal holiday, and it sorta being the 18th the first year is not going to help matters. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566/20 "2021-06-20T15:11:18Z")
If you say “Junenineteenth” quickly, it’s easy to elide all the Ns together into “Juneteenth”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-juneteenth-always-the-19th-for-u-s-federal-observation-or-does-it-move-like-some-other-holidays/944566.md?page=2)