Monday Holidays 2025

You may as well say, there he goes again. It's time a for regular rant of mine about the Monday Holiday law.

Today is Martin Luther King Day, and that's a good and right thing. If anyone deserves a holiday it's the icon of the Civil Rights movement. But for those of you who don't know, I never liked moving holidays to Mondays. I get the reason for it: three day weekends. I don't doubt that makes things like business scheduling easier or that it gives people the opportunity to plan for longer breaks. Yet I can't help but believe that such mundane and arguably selfish concerns distract from the real point of honoring someone or something.

If we are supposed to remember and honor Dr. King why aren't we remembering and honoring him on a day which would have meant something to him? Why does his holiday get moved around to suit our purposes? I would argue that it smacks of nonchalance, of, perhaps, even dishonor.  However so subtly we're putting our business and/or personal lives ahead actually honoring a man, woman, concept, or event.

Now while I'm sure Dr. King would likely, in modesty, argue he is underserving of such laurels, I believe that if we're going to look past that (as we should) then let's at least give remembrances on a day of import to him. It doesn't even have to be a birthday, birthdays after all being somewhat benign compared to what a man or woman actually achieved in life. It could be to commemorate the I Have a Dream Speech or the Selma March, or any number of things. But pick a day which would be important to what he stood for and stay with it.

Or at least stick with their actual birthdays. Monday Holidays detract rather than uplift the person or place or event they purport to recall.

Too many holidays

Today is Martin Luther King Day. It is the second of ten Federal holidays this year, the first having been New Year's Day. You know how many of those holidays I get to take off?

5.

You know how many of them most anybody else gets to take off?

5.

You know what this tells us?

That we taxpayers have to work extra days so that government employees can get five more days off than we do. They get to work a week less each year than taxpayers do. And that after the vacation, sick, and personal days they, uh, earn.

Just another reason I'm a conservative folks.

MLK Day 2016

Today is Martin Luther King Day! Of course, today really would have mattered little to him, as it isn't his birthday or anniversary or anything important to him or his life. But thanks to the Monday Holiday Law, most holidays are celebrated on the Monday after a truly important day, if it falls on a Sunday, or on the nearest Monday if it happens to fall at a different time of the week. Why do we do it? So that workers, particularly, it seems, government workers, may enjoy an extended weekend several times a year. Perhaps too so that it may make the work week easier to plan if we simply get the day off at the start of the week rather than as an interruption to the flow of things on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

But have we ever considered that such a practice is immeasurably insulting to the people and the events and the causes which we celebrate? We are speaking about people who dedicated their lives so that we could be here today to grill or watch ballgames or what have you. These people worked for causes which speak to the soul. Or we are talking about events so important to our history as a nation that without such remembrance we commit a great affront to our collective history. And what do we do?

Shove them around the calendar for our convenience.

Wow. That Dr. Martin Luther King was such a great guy, let's make his birthday a holiday. Only let's make it on the nearest Monday if January 15th inconveniently falls on a Friday this year, so that we can enjoy a prolonged vacation. Whatever we do, we better remember our heroes in the way which suits us best: by us taking time off to do as we please. That's what matters: our convenience.

That's simply wrong.

Monday Holiday law insults Martin Luther King

Today is Martin Luther King Day! Of course, today really would have mattered little to him, as it isn't his birthday or anniversary or anything important to him or his life. But thanks to the Monday Holiday Law, most holidays are celebrated on the Monday after a truly important day, if it falls on a Sunday, or on the nearest Monday if it happens to fall at a different time of the week. Why do we do it? So that workers may enjoy an extended weekend several times a year. Perhaps too so that it may make the work week easier to plan if we simply get the day off at the start of the week rather than as an interruption to the flow of things on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

But have we ever considered that such a practice is immeasurably insulting to the people and the events and the causes which we celebrate? We are speaking about people who gave their lives so that we could be here today to grill or watch ballgames or what have you, causes which speak to the soul, and events so important to our history as a nation that without whose remembrance we commit a great affront to our collective memory. And what do we do?

Shove them around the calendar for our convenience.

Wow. That Dr. Martin Luther King was such a great guy, let's make his birthday a holiday. Only let's make it on the nearest Monday if January 15th inconveniently falls on a Tuesday this year, so that we can enjoy a prolonged vacation. Whatever we do, we better remember our heroes in the way which suits us best: by us taking time off to do as we please. That's what matters: our convenience.

That's simply wrong.

Monday Holidays

Today is Martin Luther King Day! Of course, today really would have mattered little to him, as it isn't his birthday or anniversary or anything important to him or his life. But thanks to the Monday Holiday Law, most holidays are celebrated on the Monday after a truly important day, if it falls on a Sunday, or on the nearest Monday if it happens to fall at a different time of the week. Why do we do it? So that workers may enjoy an extended weekend several times a year. Perhaps too so that it may make the work week easier to plan if we simply get the day off at the start of the week rather than as an interruption to the flow of things on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

But have we ever considered that such a practice is immeasurably insulting to the people and the events and the causes which we celebrate? We are speaking about people who gave their lives so that we could be here today to grill or watch ballgames or what have you, causes which speak to the soul, and events so important to our history as a nation that without whose remembrance we commit a great affront to our collective memory. And what do we do?

Shove them around the calendar for our convenience.

Wow. That Dr. Martin Luther King was such a great guy, let's make his birthday a holiday. Only let's make it on the nearest Monday if January 15th inconveniently falls on a Tuesday this year, so that we can enjoy a prolonged vacation. Whatever we do, we better remember our heroes in the way which suits us best: by us taking time off to do as we please. That's what matters: our convenience.

That's simply wrong.