July 4 falls on a Wednesday this year. That means no three-day break to celebrate Independence Day. Instead, we have to go back to work the day after a night full of fireworks.
Independence Day, which marks the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, is one of the 10 federal holidays. On these days, all non-essential federal offices are closed. Many businesses and local governments also observe the holidays.
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Many of these holidays are “floating.” Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Washington’s birthday, Labor Day and Columbus Day are all floating holidays to give workers guaranteed three-day weekends. Thanksgiving is a floating Thursday, always falling on the fourth Thursday of November.
Independence Day, New Year’s Day, Christmas Day and Veterans Day are fixed days. If there is a year where any of these holidays fall in the middle of the week, we just have to suck it up.
However, as CNN notes, some cities are still hosting celebrations on the weekend before or after July 4. Fair St. Louis, which bills itself as “America’s biggest birthday party,” is hosting celebrations on Wednesday. Then, they will be hosting more patriotic parties on Friday, July 6 and Saturday, July 7.
One big event in Philadelphia will this weekend. The Delaware Music Festival, hosted at Delaware Park, will be on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. ET. The fun is all free and includes more than a dozen performers.
The hump-day holiday might also give some an excuse to take a long vacation in the middle of the summer. Andy Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement and transitioning firm, told LoHud.com he thinks more people will turn Independence Day into a five-day weekend. The entire July 2-6 work week might be “one of the lower weeks for work, all around,” according to Challenger.
“We do see a lot of people taking the opportunity to take an extended five-day weekend. We’re going to see a disproportionate number of people who’ll be gone on Thursday and Friday next week, which might mean a little slowdown in productivity across the country,” Challenger said.
This is the first time since 2012 that July 4 has fallen on a Wednesday. Next year will provide another conundrum, since it falls on Thursday.
The next federal holiday is not until Labor Day, which falls on Monday, Sept. 3. Columbus Day is Monday, Oct. 8. Veterans Day lands on Sunday, Nov. 11, so federal offices will be closed the following day.
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