After the Civil War ended in 1865, Americans began to hold tributes to our fallen soldiers. In 1868, May 30 was designated as “Decoration Day”, when soldiers graves were decorated in remembrance of their ultimate sacrifice. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to take effect in 1971, establishing Memorial Day as the last Monday and also declaring it a federal holiday in honor of all service men and women who have died in U.S. wars.
Monday, May 30 2022 is Memorial Day, a Federal holiday always celebrated on the last Monday in May. Memorial Day honors men and women who have died while serving in the U.S. military.
To observe Memorial Day, many military cemeteries and war memorials hold commemorative events to honor and remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. There are a variety of other meaningful events, such as military parades, concerts, memorial speeches, and flags placed on military gravesites.
The holiday weekend is also the unofficial beginning of summer with time devoted to retails sales and shopping, barbecues and picnics, and friends and family. Many retailers and restaurants offer many discounts and freebies over the weekend.
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What’s closed and open Memorial Day Weekend 2022
- Closed: All government facilities, non-retail businesses or services (banks, offices, etc.), public libraries, and schools are closed. Post offices are closed and there is no mail delivery. Paid street parking is free on Federal holidays.
- Open: Retail stores, shopping malls, grocery stores, restaurants, movie theaters, parks and botanical gardens, and municipal golf courses are open.
Garbage collection:
- City & County of Honolulu garbage collection is normal on all holidays except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day (then it is one day later).
- Maui, Lanai, Molokai: follow the Maui County holiday schedule
Public Transportation:
- Big Island: Hele-On Bus operates on a limited schedule on holidays.
- Kaui: Kauaʻi Bus operates daily, including most holidays.
- Maui: Maui Bus operates 7 days a week, including holidays.
- Oʻahu: TheBus will operate on a Sunday schedule.
Listed below is a summary of closures for government, business, services, retailers, and public services on Federal and State holidays.
2022 Federal & State Holiday Dates
USA=Federal Holiday. More info: Federal Holidays (opm.gov)
HAW=Hawaiʻi State holiday. More info: Department of Human Resources Development | State Observed Holidays (hawaii.gov)
- USA: Saturday, January 1: New Year’s Day
- USA: Monday, January 17: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (3rd Monday in January)
- USA: Monday, February 21: President’s Day aka Washington’s Birthday (3rd Monday in February)
- HAW: Friday, March 25: Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole Day (26th of March)
- HAW: Friday, April 15: Good Friday (Friday before Easter Sunday)
- USA: Monday, May 30: Memorial Day (4th Monday in May)
- HAW: Friday, June 10: King Kamehameha I Day (11th day of June)
- USA: Monday, July 4: Independence Day
- HAW: Friday, August 19: Statehood Day (3rd Friday in August)
- USA: Monday, September 5: Labor Day (1st Monday in September)
- USA: Monday, October 11: Indigenous People’s Day, formerly Columbus Day (2nd Monday in October)
- HAW: Tuesday, November 8: General Election Day
- USA: Friday, November 11: Veteran’s Day
- USA: Thursday, November 24: Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday)
- USA: Sunday, December 25: Christmas Day
- USA: Monday, December 25: (Christmas Day 0bserved)
2022 Other Holidays & Special Events
The following are not government recognized holidays with paid time off and free parking, etc. Rather, they are some commonly observed celebrations with public events that may be listed on our calendar, such as festivals & special events, sales & discounts, food & drink deals, etc.
- Monday, February 14: Valentine’s Day
- Tuesday, March 1, Mardi Gras
- Thursday, March 17, St. Patrick’s Day
- Friday, March 18: Holi (Festival of colors)
- Sunday, April 3: Ramadan begins (ends May 3 with Eid al-Fitr)
- Friday, April 15: Passover begins at sundown with a menorah lighting
- Sunday, April 17, Easter
- Monday, April 18: Federal Income Tax Day
- Thursday, May 5, Cinco de Mayo
- Sunday, May 8: Mother’s Day (2nd Sunday in May)
- Sunday, June 19, Juneteenth
- Sunday, June 19: Father’s Day (3rd Sunday in June)
- Sunday, August 7, Seafair Sunday
- Monday, October 31, Halloween
- Tuesday, November 1, Day of the Dead
- Friday, November 25: Black Friday aka Native American Heritage Day (day after Thanksgiving)
- Monday, December 19: Chanukah (Hanukkah) begins at sundown
- Saturday, December 31: New Year’s Eve
Listed below is a summary of closures for government, business, services, retailers, and public services on Federal and State holidays.
Businesses closed on all holidays
The following businesses close on Federal and Hawai’i state holidays. In addition, these businesses usually close on early on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
Banks and credit unions are closed on all holidays.
Government offices are closed on all holidays, including city, county, and state offices, government buildings, court houses, and services such as licensing.
- Private employers in Hawaii are not required to close on state holidays or provide employees time off or holiday wages.
Post Offices are closed and there is no mail delivery. However, access to P.O. boxes is usually open. Private mailbox centers usually follow retail store hours.
Public libraries are closed on holidays. When holidays fall on a Sunday, they may observe a Monday closure.
Schools are closed.
Businesses closed on a few holidays
Garbage and recycling pickup: For customers with curbside service, there is usually no garbage pickup on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas and most dump sites are closed. However, garbage service is only delayed by one day. Therefore, if your regular pickup day falls on or after the holiday that week, adjust your pickup day to one day later. On all other holidays, garbage pickup is not adjusted.
Grocery stores are sometimes closed on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, though closures may vary widely even among chain stores. If they are open, they may have adjusted hours, opening later or closing earlier.
Restaurants are sometimes closed on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, except those located in hotels. Restaurants open on holidays may have special menus or hours.
Retail stores and shopping malls are usually closed on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. On other Federal holidays, they are open and offer big sales and discounts.
Businesses open most holidays
Grocery stores are open most holidays, except New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. However, availability varies widely. Note that hours at chain stores can vary by location and some stores have reduced hours.
Restaurants are open most holidays, except New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. However, restaurants in hotels are often open on all holidays. Restaurants open on holidays may have special menus or hours.
Retail stores and shopping malls are open most holidays, except New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Many stores and malls have special sales and extended hours for most other Federal holidays, especially those on 3-day weekends.
Businesses open on all holidays
Movie theaters are usually open on all holidays. In fact, especially on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, going out to a movie is a tradition for many.
Parks are open on all holidays, usually dawn to dusk. This includes city, state, and national parks. Other public facilities such as swimming pools and golf courses are open most holidays except New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Public transportation operates and some are on a Sunday or holiday schedule.
Calendar of events for Memorial Day weekend
The following events are on our calendar for Memorial Day weekend, May 27-30, 2022
Friday, May 27, 2022
Saturday, May 28, 2022
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Monday, May 30, 2022
To see all events for the weekend, see our calendar of free and cheap things to do this weekend.
2023 National Holiday Dates
- Sunday, January 1: New Year’s Day
- Monday, January 2: New Year’s Day (observed)
- Monday, January 16: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (3rd Monday in January)
- Monday, February 20: President’s Day aka Washington’s Birthday (3rd Monday in February)
- Monday, May 29: Memorial Day (4th Monday in May)
- Tuesday, July 4: Independence Day
- Monday, September 4: Labor Day (1st Monday in September)
- Monday, October 9: Indigenous People’s Day aka Columbus Day (2nd Monday in October)
- Friday, November 10: Veteran’s Day (observed)
- Saturday, November 11: Veteran’s Day
- Thursday, November 23: Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday)
- Monday, December 25: Christmas Day
2023 Hawaii State Holidays
Hawaiʻi State Government offices and facilities observe the following state holidays. Public schools are closed on Prince Kūhiō Day and Good Friday (they are not in session during summer). Federal offices are open. Retailers and the community have special celebrations.
- Monday, March 27: Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole Day (26th of March)
- Friday, April 7: Good Friday (Friday before Easter Sunday)
- Monday, June 12: King Kamehameha I Day (11th day of June)
- Friday, August 18: Statehood Day (3rd Friday in August)
More info: https://dhrd.hawaii.gov/state-observed-holidays/
2023 Other Holidays & Special Events
- Tuesday, February 14: Valentine’s Day
- Tuesday, February 21: Mardi Gras
- Tuesday, March 7: Holi (Festival of Colors)
- Friday, March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
- Thursday, March 23: Ramadan begins (ends Saturday, April 22 with Eid al-Fitr)
- Wednesday, April 5: Passover begins at sundown
- Sunday, April 9: Easter Sunday
- Monday, April 18: Federal Income Tax Day
- Friday, May 5: Cinco de Mayo
- Sunday, May 14: Mother’s Day (2nd Sunday in May)
- Sunday, June 18: Father’s Day (3rd Sunday in June)
- Monday, June 19: Juneteenth
- Sunday, August 6: Seafair Sunday
- Tuesday, October 31: Halloween
- Wednesday, November 1: Day of the Dead
- Friday, November 24: Black Friday aka Native American Heritage Day (day after Thanksgiving)
- Friday, December 7: Chanukah (Hanukkah) begins at sundown
- Sunday, December 31: New Year’s Eve
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