About the Holiday Date Calculator
This holiday date calculator answers questions like “when is Thanksgiving this year?” or “what date is Memorial Day 2027?” for any year from 1900 to 2200. Pick a holiday and a year to get the exact date, the day of the week, the date it is officially observed and how many days away it is — plus a full table of US federal holidays for that year.
Many holidays float: Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November, Labor Day the first Monday of September and Mother’s Day the second Sunday of May, so their dates change every year. Fixed-date federal holidays such as July 4 move their day off when they land on a weekend. The calculator covers both, along with Easter, Black Friday, Election Day, Canadian Thanksgiving and the main UK bank holidays.
It is useful for HR and payroll teams building a holiday calendar, businesses planning closures and promotions, travellers booking long weekends and anyone counting down to a celebration. Observed dates follow the US Office of Personnel Management rule for federal employees: a Saturday holiday is observed on the Friday before and a Sunday holiday on the Monday after.
How to use the holiday date calculator
- 1Choose the holiday you want from the list.
- 2Enter the year.
- 3Optionally set the date to count from (usually today).
- 4Read the date, weekday, observed day off and days to go.
- 5Use the table to see every US federal holiday for that year.
Formula and method
Floating holidays are defined as “the nth weekday of a month”. The calculator finds the weekday of the 1st of the month, moves forward to the first occurrence of the target weekday, then adds whole weeks. “Last Monday” rules start from the last day of the month and step backwards. Election Day is the day after the first Monday in November, and Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving.
Fixed-date federal holidays keep their calendar date, but under the OPM rule a Saturday holiday is observed on the preceding Friday and a Sunday holiday on the following Monday. Easter is computed with the Gregorian computus used by Western churches. Historical rules are built in: before the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect in 1971, Washington’s Birthday was February 22 and Memorial Day May 30; Veterans Day (Armistice Day until 1954, federal since 1938) moved to the fourth Monday of October for 1971–1977 and returned to November 11 from 1978; Thanksgiving was the last Thursday of November by proclamation until 1938, fell on President Roosevelt’s earlier dates in 1939–1941 and has been the fourth Thursday by law since 1942.
Holidays that were not yet federal in the chosen year (Columbus Day before 1971, Martin Luther King Jr. Day before 1986, Juneteenth before 2021, Veterans Day before 1938) are flagged and left out of that year’s federal table. Observed dates apply today’s OPM weekend rule to every year; weekend practice before the 1970s varied, so treat observed dates for early years as indicative.
- n
- Which occurrence of the weekday (e.g. 4 for the fourth Thursday)
- weekday
- Day of week, 0 = Sunday … 6 = Saturday
Worked examples
When is Thanksgiving 2026?
November 1, 2026 is a Sunday, so the first Thursday is November 5 and the fourth is November 26. That is 58 days after September 29 and the 330th day of the year.
Memorial Day 2027
May 31, 2027 is itself a Monday, so it is the last Monday in May — the latest possible Memorial Day. It is 244 days after September 29, 2026.
Independence Day 2027 on a Sunday
July 4, 2027 falls on a Sunday, so federal employees get Monday, July 5 off. The holiday itself is 278 days after September 29, 2026.
Veterans Day 1975 (Monday-holiday era)
From 1971 to 1977 the Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved Veterans Day to the fourth Monday of October. October 1975 had Mondays on the 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th, so the holiday was Monday, October 27 — day 300 of the year. It returned to November 11 in 1978.
Mother’s Day 2028
May 1, 2028 is a Monday, so the first Sunday is May 7 and the second — Mother’s Day in the US — is May 14.
Frequently asked questions
How is the date of Thanksgiving decided?+
Since a 1941 law, US Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November, so it always falls between November 22 and 28. Canadian Thanksgiving is the second Monday of October.
How many federal holidays are there in the US?+
There are 11 permanent US federal holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
What happens when a federal holiday falls on a weekend?+
For most federal employees, a holiday on Saturday is observed on the preceding Friday and a holiday on Sunday is observed on the following Monday. Private employers often, but not always, follow the same rule.
When is Memorial Day?+
Memorial Day is the last Monday in May, so it falls between May 25 and May 31. It became a Monday holiday under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which took effect in 1971.
Was Veterans Day always on November 11?+
Almost. It became a federal holiday as Armistice Day on November 11 in 1938 and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved it to the fourth Monday of October from 1971 to 1977, and a 1975 law returned it to November 11 beginning in 1978.
Is Black Friday a federal holiday?+
No. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is not a federal holiday, although many employers and some state governments give the day off. It is included here because it is a common planning date for retail.