Federal Holidays 2026
| Date | Holiday | Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 (Thu) | New Year's Day | Banks/post closed |
| Jan 19 (Mon) | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Federal offices closed |
| Feb 16 (Mon) | Presidents' Day | Federal offices closed |
| May 25 (Mon) | Memorial Day | Most things open; start of beach season |
| Jun 19 (Fri) | Juneteenth | Federal holiday since 2021 |
| Jul 4 (Sat) | Independence Day | Fireworks, most things open |
| Sep 7 (Mon) | Labor Day | End of summer, most things open |
| Oct 12 (Mon) | Columbus Day | Federal offices closed |
| Nov 11 (Wed) | Veterans Day | Federal offices closed |
| Nov 26 (Thu) | Thanksgiving | Most everything closed |
| Dec 25 (Fri) | Christmas Day | Most everything closed |
Major Shopping Days
- Black Friday — Nov 27, 2026. The biggest shopping day of the year. Deals start online a week earlier.
- Cyber Monday — Nov 30, 2026. Biggest online shopping day.
- Boxing Day — NOT a holiday in the US. Dec 26 is just a normal day.
- Tax-free weekends — Many states offer sales-tax-free weekends before back-to-school (early August). Worth planning around.
Biggest Events 2026
- Super Bowl — February 8, 2026 (LA-hosted). Host city is chaos; book months ahead.
- Mardi Gras in New Orleans — Feb 17, 2026. Fat Tuesday celebrations. Spectacular and crowded.
- SXSW Austin — Mar 13-22, 2026. Tech, film, music festival. Hotels 5x normal prices.
- Coachella (CA) — Apr 10-19, 2026. Two weekends of music festival.
- Kentucky Derby — May 2, 2026. America's most famous horse race.
- Indy 500 — May 24, 2026. Iconic motor race.
- July 4th — fireworks nationwide, especially NYC (Macy's), DC (National Mall), Boston.
- Burning Man — Aug 30-Sep 7, 2026. Nevada desert. 80,000 attendees.
- US Open Tennis — Aug 31-Sep 13, 2026. NYC.
- Macy's Thanksgiving Parade — Nov 26, 2026. Iconic NYC parade.
- Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting — early December NYC.
- Times Square New Year's Eve — Dec 31, 2026. Ball drop.
What's Closed
Thanksgiving Day (Nov 26, 2026): Almost everything. Grocery stores close early. Restaurants mostly closed (fine dining hotels offer Thanksgiving dinner — book ahead). No mail. Banks closed.
Christmas Day (Dec 25): Everything closed except some Chinese restaurants, movie theaters and a few Jewish delis in NYC. No mail, no banks. Even many tourist attractions are closed.
New Year's Day (Jan 1): Banks and federal offices closed. Most retail open. Parades and football games on TV.
Fall Foliage 2026
Peak fall colors by region:
- Northern Vermont & New Hampshire: early-mid October
- Southern New England (Boston, CT): mid-late October
- Upstate New York & Catskills: mid-October
- Great Smoky Mountains (TN/NC): late October
- Colorado aspens: late September
Mardi Gras 2026
Fat Tuesday is Feb 17, 2026. The "season" starts Jan 6 (Epiphany) and builds for 6 weeks. The final 2 weeks are when the parades and parties peak. Book New Orleans hotels 6+ months in advance. Expect to pay 3-5x normal rates.
Pride
Pride Month is June. Major parades:
- NYC Pride — last Sunday of June (June 28, 2026). America's biggest.
- SF Pride — late June. Historic significance.
- LA Pride (West Hollywood) — early June.
- Chicago Pride — last Sunday of June.
- DC Pride — second Saturday of June.
Halloween
October 31, 2026. Not a federal holiday but a huge cultural event. Costumes, parties, trick-or-treating. Best places to experience: Salem MA (Halloween capital), Greenwich Village NYC parade, New Orleans French Quarter, Las Vegas.