Disability History Month is an annual, month-long observance of the history of the disability rights movement, and commemoration of the achievements of disabled people, that occurs in some places.
In the United Kingdom, an unofficial Disability History Month is observed by participating individuals and organizations. [1] It was first marked in 2010 and annually scheduled to run from November 22 to December 22. [1]
In 2007, legislation enacted in Idaho designated every October as Disability History Month. [2]
Chapter 6 of the Massachusetts General Laws directs that the Governor of Massachusetts "shall annually issue a proclamation setting apart the month of October as Disability History Month to increase awareness and understanding of the contributions made by persons with disabilities". [3]
In May 2011, the Missouri legislature passed House Bill 555, which authorizes school boards to require the provision of disability history and awareness instruction in public schools during the month of October of each year. House Bill 555 further designated the month of October to be "Disability History and Awareness Month". [4]
In the state of Washington, October is a statutorily designated civic holiday called Disability History Month. The bill establishing the holiday passed the state legislature in 2008 and is codified in Title 28A of the Revised Code of Washington in 2008. [5] In addition to the ceremonial designation, the law also requires that "each public school shall conduct or promote educational activities that provide instruction, awareness, and understanding of disability history and people with disabilities". [5] [6]
The U.S. Congress has statutorily designated the month of October as a recurring, civic holiday called "National Disability Employment Awareness Month". [7]
The 82nd Texas Legislature statutorily designated October as a recurring, month-long civic holiday called "Persons with Disabilities History and Awareness Month" to "encourage public schools and state agencies to celebrate the accomplishments of people with disabilities, highlighting the achievements of Texans with disabilities who made significant contributions to the state and the extraordinary Americans who led the way in the disability rights movement". [8]
Meanwhile Delaware, in 2011, designated October as "Disability History and Awareness Month". [9]
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the end of slavery. Its name is a portmanteau of "June" and "nineteenth", as it is celebrated on the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when as the American Civil War was ending, Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas. Originating in Galveston, Juneteenth has since been observed annually in various parts of the United States, often broadly celebrating African-American culture.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year. King was chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and state law and civil society. The movement lead to several groundbreaking legislative reforms in the United States.
Evacuation Day is a holiday observed on March 17 in Suffolk County, Massachusetts and also by the public schools in Somerville, Massachusetts. The holiday commemorates the evacuation of British forces from the city of Boston following the siege of Boston, early in the American Revolutionary War. Schools and government offices are closed. If March 17 falls on a weekend, schools and government offices are closed on the following Monday in observance. It is the same day as Saint Patrick's Day, a coincidence that played a role in the establishment of the holiday.
Confederate Memorial Day is a holiday observed in several Southern U.S. states on various dates since the end of the American Civil War. The holiday was originally publicly presented as a day to remember the estimated 258,000 Confederate soldiers who died during the American Civil War.
National holidays in the United States are 11 calendar dates designated by the U.S. federal government as official holidays. On these days non-essential national offices are closed although the employees receive pay.
Patriots' Day is an annual event, formalized as a legal holiday or a special observance day in six U.S. states, commemorating the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy, some of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. The holiday occurs on the third Monday of April each year, with celebrations including battle reenactments and the Boston Marathon.
In the United States, public holidays are set by federal, state, and local governments and are often observed by closing government offices or giving government employees paid time off. The federal government does not require any private business to close or offer paid time off, as is the case for most state local governments, so employers determine which holidays to observe.
Public holidays in Canada, known as statutory holidays, stat holidays, or simply stats, consist of a variety of cultural, nationalistic, and religious holidays that are legislated in Canada at the federal or provincial and territorial levels. While many of these holidays are honoured and acknowledged nationwide, provincial and territorial legislation varies in regard to which are officially recognized.
Civic Holiday is a public holiday in Canada celebrated on the first Monday in August.
Election Day in the United States is the annual day for general elections of federal public officials. It is statutorily set by the U.S. government as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November", i.e. the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8.
Lincoln's Birthday is a legal, public holiday in some U.S. states, observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, California, Missouri, and New York observe the holiday.
Native American Day is a holiday observed in several US states in celebration of Native American culture. In California and Nevada, the holiday is designated on the fourth Friday of September, whereas in South Dakota and Wisconsin, it falls on the second Monday of October. Within each of these states, Native American Day honors the cultural contributions of Native American communities to the respective state's history, as well as to the overall country. The state of Washington celebrates Native American Heritage Day on the Friday immediately following the fourth Thursday in November. The state of Tennessee observes a similar American Indian Day each year on the fourth Monday of September. President George W. Bush signed into law legislation introduced by Congressman Joe Baca (D-Calif.), to designate the Friday after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day.
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil, Germany and the Philippines. It is also observed in the Dutch town of Leiden and the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest and of the preceding year. Various similarly named harvest festival holidays occur throughout the world during autumn. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well.
Robert E. Lee Day is a state holiday in parts of the Southern US, commemorating the Confederate general Robert E. Lee. It is rooted in the rise of the Lost Cause myth prevalent throughout the Southern United States, as Lee was a central figure in Lost Cause mythology due to his social status, military exploits, and personality.
In most provinces of Canada, the third Monday in February is observed as a regional statutory holiday, typically known in general as Family Day —though some provinces use their own names, as they celebrate the day for different reasons. The third Monday of February is observed as "Family Day" in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia (BC), New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan; as Louis Riel Day in Manitoba; as Nova Scotia Heritage Day in Nova Scotia; and as Islander Day in Prince Edward Island.
Presidents' Day, officially Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February. It is often celebrated to honor all those who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879, has been the federal holiday honoring Founding Father George Washington, who led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolutionary War, presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and was the first U.S. president.
Temperance and Good Citizenship Day is a civic observance in the United States state of Washington, established in 1923 and principally intended for observance in the state's schools. Temperance and Good Citizenship Day occurs annually on January 16, except for years in which January 16 is a "non-school day" in which case it occurs on the preceding Friday.
The following is the planned order of succession for the governorships of the 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and the five organized territories of the United States, according to the constitutions of each. Some states make a distinction whether the succeeding individual is acting as governor or becomes governor.
In the United States there are a number of observed holidays where employees receive paid time off. The labor force in the United States comprises about 62% of the general population. In the United States, 97% of the private sector businesses determine what days this sector of the population gets paid time off, according to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management. The following holidays are observed by the majority of US businesses with paid time off: New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, the day after known as Black Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas. There are also numerous holidays on the state and local level that are observed to varying degrees.