Independence Day, July 4, sometimes comes with a long weekend, if the holiday falls on a weekend day. As TimeAndDate.com explains, if July 4 falls on a Sunday, Americans get to celebrate the holiday on that Monday. But if the Fourth of July occurs on a Saturday, the country gets a long weekend in the other direction, with the holiday officially observed on the day before, Friday.
But this year, 2018, July 4 falls on a Wednesday — right smack in the middle of the week — for the first time since 2012. What does that mean for when Americans should celebrate the holiday? The answer is simple. In 2018, the July 4 holiday will be observed on — July 4.
“When Congress relocated Washington’s birthday and most other national holidays to Monday in 1971, it did not tamper with Independence Day,” the New York Times explained. “As a result, the Fourth of July is always the fourth of July, whenever that might be.”
When July 4 falls on a Tuesday, many Americans make a habit of skipping work on Monday, as The Atlantic magazine noted, granting themselves a four-day mini-vacation. But when the Independence Day holiday comes on a Wednesday, well, holiday-loving Americans get shortchanged.
Or do they? According to an article in the business magazine Inc. , a Wednesday celebration of July 4 is nothing but a headache for businesses, because “business owners will be forced to deal with employees who plan to extend their day off to a five-day holiday weekend.”
But even though some people will find a way to take a five-day fourth of July, government offices and banks will close their doors for one day only, on July 4 itself, as USA Today reports. Mail will not be delivered, and though they are not government operations, the financial markets including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq exchange will also close for the one-day, July 4 holiday.
While most major banks keep their ATMs operational 24 hours or day, 365 days per year, the banks themselves will be closed — including Bank of America, Bank of the West, Capital One Bank, Chase Bank, Citibank, Citizens Bank, HSBC Bank, SunTrust Bank, TD Bank, Union Bank, and Wells Fargo, according to the Metro newspaper. Some branches of US Bank may remain open, at least for limited hours.
For Americans who enjoy spending their valuable holiday time shopping in superstores, Walmart locations will remain open, Metro reports, and according to the site Romper , Target stores will also remain open. Shoppers should check with their local locations or on the Target and Walmart sites to be sure.
