Community Corner
President's Day 2022: What's Open/What's Closed In Massachusetts
All state, local, and federal government offices will be closed on Presidents Day, Feb. 21, 2022.
BOSTON — Banks, post offices, and other services will be closed Monday, Feb.21, for Presidents Day, a holiday established by Congress decades ago to move the celebration of George Washington’s birthday to the third Monday of February every year.
Presidents Day doesn't officially include Abraham Lincoln's birthday on Feb. 12, which was celebrated by a handful of states.
The 16th U.S. president was born in 1809 in LaRue County, Kentucky, though his birth state isn't one of the five — Lincoln's adopted state of Illinois plus California, Connecticut, Missouri, and New York — that observe his birthday as a holiday.
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In the public consciousness, though, Lincoln's birthday is spun in with that of the first U.S. president, George Washington, and is observed on the third Monday in February. This year, that's on Feb. 21.
Technically, though, the holiday observed on the third Monday of February commemorates Washington's birth on Feb. 22, 1732.
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The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971 doesn't mention Lincoln's birthday or even Presidents Day. Some lawmakers argued during the debate that Washington’s birthday should be renamed Presidents Day to include Lincoln, but Congress rejected that.
Before the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971, Washington's birthday was celebrated on the anniversary of his birth regardless of the day of the week.
While most retail shops, malls, liquor stores, and supermarkets will be open, all government buildings will be closed.
A few of the services that will be closed Monday for Presidents Day include:
The Federal Reserve system won't be operating, so that means most banks will be closed. ATMs will operate as usual. Some bank branches might remain open Monday, processing transactions on Tuesday. Customers should check with their branch to be sure.
The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, and bond markets will be closed. So will the U.S. Postal Service.
All Department of Motor Vehicles offices will be closed on Saturday, Feb. 19, and on Presidents Day.
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