Patriots' Day is not a federal holiday in the United States. It is an official state holiday legally recognized and observed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of Maine. While a few other states, such as Wisconsin and Connecticut, give some form of observance to the day, it does not carry the status of a legal, public holiday in those jurisdictions or at the national level.
The distinction arises from governmental jurisdiction. Federal holidays are designated by the U.S. Congress and apply to federal employees, offices, and institutions nationwide. State holidays, conversely, are established by individual state legislatures and are binding only within that state's borders. Patriots' Day commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the first armed conflicts of the American Revolutionary War. Because of the deep historical and geographical ties of these events to Massachusetts (of which Maine was a district until 1820), the observance has remained a regional tradition, celebrated annually on the third Monday in April.
In practical terms, this means that on Patriots' Day, state and local government offices, public schools, and many businesses are closed in Massachusetts and Maine. However, federal institutions, such as the U.S. Postal Service and federal courts, remain open and operational throughout the country, including within those two states. For the rest of the nation, the day is a standard business day with no widespread closures or official observances.
