Holidays

Today marks the official observance of Juneteenth, the anniversary of the day in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to to read aloud the Emancipation Proclamation — two months after the Confederacy had surrendered and two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on Jan. 1, 1863, freeing slaves throughout the United States.

The Riverhead-based African American Educational & Cultural Festival will host its Second Annual Virtual Spirit of Kwanzaa Celebration: Seven days and Seven Principles Dec. 26-Jan. 1.

The grief and the joy of Christmas coincide in the same way life and death are with us every day.

Early in 2021, we put the last of the Christmas decorations away. I remember holding our Christmas-themed face masks and thinking, “Well, we won’t need these next Christmas. But they sure are cute.”

Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in the Jewish religion, begins at sunset tonight and continues until after nightfall tomorrow. The "Day of Atonement" is observed by a nearly 26-hour fast to repent for one's sins.

What's open, what's closed on Labor Day, plus some stats on the workforce before and after the pandemic — and a bit of history about the holiday.

Today is Washington’s Birthday, a holiday honoring the first president of the United States, George Washington. It is informally known as Presidents Day. Here's a rundown of what's open and closed for the holiday today.

What's closed, what's open on Labor Day — and what this holiday is all about.

Today is the official observance of Washington's birthday. "Presidents' Day" is not a federal designation, but its use became common as a result of advertising campaigns that began using the term in the 1980s.

At the heart of Hanukkah is the nightly menorah lighting, commemorating the miracle of a one-day supply of oil lasting eight days when the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was rededicated in the second century BCE.