Obscure local/regional/national holidays...

[piglet1979]

This is such an interesting thread and I loved reading what others have as holidays. Where I am in Ohio we don't have any obscure holiday's that I know of.

 

[RamblingMad]

Like I said in the 45 years I have lived in the state I have never heard of these as holidays or known anyone who got them off. Your post made me curious though and now I know why I have never known anyone who got them off, I have never known a state employee.

It would appear to be something state employees got as holidays and starting in 2016 they are just called state holidays and are not even observed on the previous days.

For example in 2020 the holiday that would have been Robert E Lee's birthday(January 19th) is observed as a day off on Friday November 27th. Similarly Confederate Memorial Day is now observed by moving it each year as the Friday before Easter.

So in reality state employees get the Friday before Easter and the Friday after Thanksgiving off but technically are observing old confederate holidays.

Weird!

I no longer live there. But they did come across as weird.

 

[easyas123]

This is such an interesting thread and I loved reading what others have as holidays. Where I am in Ohio we don't have any obscure holiday's that I know of.

I agree, It's nice to hear about these lesser known traditions/holidays.

 

[SirDuff]

Then I think that you need to go to Portugal to get out your aggression. On the São João festival in Porto people walk around hitting random strangers on the head with hammers. Sounds like a good place for you

I prefer hitting things that don't hit back!

But, I'll check it out.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

In Illinois Casimir Pulaski Day, first Monday in March (since 1977).

He was "a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. He is praised for his contributions to the U.S. military in the American Revolution and known as "the father of the American cavalry". " (Wikipedia)

At first all Illinois schools had the day off (I believe), but in the past some districts (ours included) have petitioned the state to not close on the holiday.

My kids' district did have it off about 10 years ago because the district forgot to file their petition.

I believe there were some actual celebrations in the Chicago area (large Polish population), but not really anywhere else. Just a day the State offices and schools were closed.

 

[disney212]

Sweetest Day in October. Never heard of it until 1999 when we tried to book a florist for our wedding and they were turning us down due to the *holiday" which happened to be our wedding date. 21 years later and we celebrate our anniversary but not Sweetest Day. It seems to have fallen out of favor in the Cincinnati area but I'm not sure about the rest of the Midwest.

 

[disney212]

Duplication

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

They weren't necessarily holidays but we had the Garlic festival, the peach festival, apple hill days, the strawberry festival, the grape festival, the crawfish festival, and the Dixieland Jazz Jubilee all within a couple of hours drive of us every summer and fall.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I see upthread the Mummer's Parade was mentioned. I'm a South Philly 2nd Streeter born and bred, and the parade is my family's history and tradition. I have too many relatives and friends in the various clubs to mention. We are a Fancy Brigade family, but my Grandmother (my Mom's Mom) grew up next door to a string band. I know what I'm saying makes no sense to someone who doesn't know the Mummers. This is a performance by the Quaker City String Band (my grandmother's 'home' band):

And my brother-in-law's Fancy Brigade, The Shooting Stars:

 

[piglet1979]

Sweetest Day in October. Never heard of it until 1999 when we tried to book a florist for our wedding and they were turning us down due to the *holiday" which happened to be our wedding date. 21 years later and we celebrate our anniversary but not Sweetest Day. It seems to have fallen out of favor in the Cincinnati area but I'm not sure about the rest of the Midwest.

Yes! This is one that when I was school we celebrated. Some club would sell carnations for I think $1 at lunch. It seemed big at the time but it really wasn't. Now that I am older it just gives me an excuse to get my favorite chocolate covered strawberries.

 

[tvguy]

In CA, we have Cesar Chavez day on March 31st. Only state employees (including courts) are closed. Local government offices are still open.

What part of California are you in? All local city and county offices and schools in Northern California (Sacramento for example) are closed. And it is a state holiday in 7 other states.

 

[tvguy]

One sort of school "holiday" week I had never of until I got on these boards, Jersey week. As I understand it the schools are closed in November for teacher conferences. Stuff that out here is done before the school year starts.

The one that schools started observing around here about 20 years ago President's Day Week. Not just President's Day, the whole week. And Thanksgiving used to be just Thursday and Friday off, now it is the entire week. Now, they do start school three weeks earlier than when I was a kid, but they also end the school year three weeks earlier.

 

[starry_solo]

What part of California are you in? All local city and county offices and schools in Northern California (Sacramento for example) are closed. And it is a state holiday in 7 other states.

Southern California.

 

[Keetchino]

One that find really obscure is Dyngus day in Buffalo. I don't think any other part of the country celebrates it outside of there.

Dyngus Day is HUGE here lol, we are the Dyngus Day Capital of the World and it's amazing

 

[tvguy]

Southern California.

Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties all list it as county holidays.

 

[starry_solo]

Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties all list it as county holidays.

not sure why cuz I’ve worked for a few of them and it wasn't when I was there. It is a state holiday with the courthouses in the counties being closed, but the counties are not. I will say that for people who had to go to court, that was the only day the offices could have countywide meetings...cuz they were open and the courts were not.

 

[skeeter31]

Here in Tampa, schools are closed in the spring each year for the State Fair and also for the Strawberry Festival. Usually on a Monday or Friday during the runs of each of those festivals to allow the kids to go to them.

 

[Kittyblue]

The town my mom grew up in does Deutschesfest. It's this tiny little town in WA (Odessa) founded mostly by German immigrants. Many in my family have attended, and I've always wanted to go but work hasn't allow me. I think these tiny towns with huge festivals are so much fun.

 

[aggiedog]

Where I grew up in Upper Michigan, we got the first 3 days of deer season off. We now live in Texas. While I was in high school, a district a few counties over got the first few days of rice planting off (all hands on deck?) Not quite a holiday, but locally, all our high schools in SE Texas had Sadie Hawkins, which is a reverse valentines where the girls ask the boys out and then wear matching shirts. I'm not even sure that even exists any more. LOL

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Detroit, MI area. Fat Tuesday is celebrated here as "Paczki Day". Paczki (pronounced poonch-kee), are Polish cream/jelly filled doughnuts. Everybody gets paczek (the plural form) on Paczki Day. People stand in lines at the most popular bakeries for hours. Business break rooms are full of them.

We also have Devil's Night (October 30th), which is not exactly celebrated so much as feared/reviled. Thankfully, you don't hear much about it these days. But when I was younger, it was a big thing.