Presidents Day 2017 is this Monday, Feb. 20. It's a federal holiday, so many institutions, venues, and services are closed for the day.
This means that on Monday a slew of stores, malls, banks, post offices, stock markets, and more are closed. Here's a brief guide to navigate this federal holiday without wasting too much time heading to locations that are closed.
What Is Presidents Day?
First of all, let's start at the beginning and offer a bit of background for this federal holiday. Presidents Day celebrates the birthday of George Washington, who was born on Feb. 22, 1732 and was the first president of the United States. The holiday was established as a way to honor the first president, but the federal holiday was eventually moved to the third Monday of February rather than remaining fixed on Feb. 22. This year, for instance, it falls on Feb. 20.
The holiday later became an occasion to pay tribute to the first president, George Washington, and the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, albeit more recently it has become a holiday to honor all U.S. presidents past and present.
Presidents Day is the third federal holiday of the year and it's shortly after Martin Luther King Day. The next one up will be Memorial Day, which falls on May 29 this year.
While Presidents Day sales bring attractive deals and discounts each year, the holiday also affects the regular hours of services and institutions, as follows.
Presidents Day 2017: Are Malls And Stores Open?
Large shopping malls, big box stores, big-brand grocery stores, and drug stores are open on Presidents Day as well, so people can still get their essentials or go on a fun holiday shopping spree. Most restaurants and liquor stores should be open as well.
Presidents Day 2017: Banks, Schools, And Post Offices
Since it's a federal holiday, all financial institutions, stock markets, schools and post offices will be closed on Presidents Day. When it comes to the financial institutions, any transaction conducted on President's Day will be done on the next business day.
Schools are closed across the board, from grade schools all the way up to universities and everything in between. Post offices are closed on Monday as well, but all institutions will resume their regular business hours on Tuesday. While the post office doesn't make any deliveries on Monday, services such as UPS and FedEx offer regular pickup and delivery despite the federal holiday.
Smaller businesses, supermarkets, stores, boutiques, and others could choose to stay open during the holiday, but chances are that most of them will be closed on Monday and resume normal activity on Tuesday.
Presidents Day Deals
Those interested in doing some shopping can take advantage of various Presidents Day deals that are set to expire shortly, as a number of retailers and brand stores are offering notable discounts to mark the occasion. From discounts on iPhone 7 and Android smartphones to heavy deals on 4K TVs and more, Presidents Day brings some attractive offers.
