Juneteenth 2023 NJ

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In the State of New Jersey, the United States, there are 13 public holidays in 2023, and two of them fall on weekends: New Year's Day and Veterans Day.

The following is the list of public holidays in the State of New Jersey, the United States in 2023.

HolidayDateWeekdayNote
New Year's Day Jan 01, 2023 Sunday Federal Holiday
New Year's Day Holiday Jan 02, 2023 Monday Observed
Martin Luther King. Jr. Day Jan 16, 2023 Monday Federal Holiday
President's Day Feb 20, 2023 Monday Federal Holiday
Good Friday Apr 07, 2023 Friday State Holiday
Memorial Day May 29, 2023 Monday Federal Holiday
Juneteenth Jun 16, 2023 Friday Federal Holiday
Independence Day Jul 04, 2023 Tuesday Federal Holiday
Labor Day Sep 04, 2023 Monday Federal Holiday
Columbus Day Oct 09, 2023 Monday Federal Holiday
Election Day Nov 07, 2023 Tuesday State Holiday
Veterans Day Holiday Nov 10, 2023 Friday Observed
Veterans Day Nov 11, 2023 Saturday Federal Holiday
Thanksgiving Day Nov 23, 2023 Thursday Federal Holiday
Christmas Day Dec 25, 2023 Monday Federal Holiday

Please also check working days in New Jersey in 2023.

Juneteenth 2023 NJ

The Juneteenth flag symbolizes freedom and justice for Black Americans and African Americans. Image via Office Holidays
  How long until Juneteenth?
Juneteenth
  Dates of Juneteenth in USA

2024 Jun 14, Jun 15, Jun 19, Jun 21

New JerseyFri, Jun 21Government Holiday

USAWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

ColoradoWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

ConnecticutWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

DelawareWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

District of ColumbiaWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

GeorgiaWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

IdahoWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

IllinoisWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

MaineWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

MarylandWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

MassachusettsWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

MichiganWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

MissouriWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

NebraskaWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

New MexicoWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

New YorkWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

OhioWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

OregonWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

South DakotaWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

TexasWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

UtahWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

VirginiaWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

WashingtonWed, Jun 19Regional Holiday

LouisianaSat, Jun 15Government Holiday

LouisianaFri, Jun 14Government Holiday (in lieu)

2023 Jun 16, Jun 17, Jun 19

USAMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

ColoradoMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

ConnecticutMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

DelawareMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

District of ColumbiaMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

GeorgiaMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

IdahoMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

IllinoisMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

MaineMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

MarylandMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday (in lieu)

MassachusettsMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

MichiganMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

MissouriMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

NebraskaMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

New MexicoMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

New YorkMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

OhioMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

OregonMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

South DakotaMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

TexasMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

UtahMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

VirginiaMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

WashingtonMon, Jun 19Regional Holiday

LouisianaSat, Jun 17Government Holiday

LouisianaFri, Jun 16Government Holiday (in lieu)

New JerseyFri, Jun 16Government Holiday

2022 Jun 17, Jun 18, Jun 19, Jun 20

USAMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

AlabamaMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

ColoradoMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

ConnecticutMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

DelawareMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

District of ColumbiaMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

GeorgiaMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

IdahoMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

MarylandMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

MassachusettsMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

MichiganMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

MissouriMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

NebraskaMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

New MexicoMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

New YorkMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

OhioMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

OregonMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

South DakotaMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

UtahMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

VirginiaMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday (in lieu)

WashingtonMon, Jun 20Regional Holiday

IllinoisSun, Jun 19Regional Holiday

MaineSun, Jun 19Regional Holiday

New YorkSun, Jun 19Regional Holiday

TexasSun, Jun 19Regional Holiday

LouisianaSat, Jun 18Government Holiday

LouisianaFri, Jun 17Government Holiday (in lieu)

New JerseyFri, Jun 17Government Holiday

West VirginiaFri, Jun 17Regional Holiday

2021 Jun 18, Jun 19

MassachusettsSat, Jun 19Government Holiday

New YorkSat, Jun 19Government Holiday

TexasSat, Jun 19Government Holiday

USAFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday (in lieu)

AlabamaFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday (in lieu)

IdahoFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday (in lieu)

IllinoisFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday (in lieu)

LouisianaFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday

MarylandFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday (in lieu)

MissouriFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday (in lieu)

NebraskaFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday (in lieu)

New JerseyFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday

OhioFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday (in lieu)

VirginiaFri, Jun 18Regional Holiday (in lieu)

2020 Jun 19

New YorkFri, Jun 19Government Holiday

TexasFri, Jun 19Government Holiday

VirginiaFri, Jun 19Government Holiday

  Summary

Juneteenth is a federal holiday and state holiday in several states. It commemorates the date in 1865 when news of the emancipation of African American slaves reached Galveston

  Juneteenth in other countries
Juneteenth internationally
  Which regions observe Juneteenth in 2023?
National Holiday Regional Holiday Not a public holiday Govt Holiday

  ColoradoJun 19

  ConnecticutJun 19

  DelawareJun 19

  District of ColumbiaJun 19

  GeorgiaJun 19

  IdahoJun 19

  IllinoisJun 19

  LouisianaJun 17

  LouisianaJun 16 (in lieu)

  MaineJun 19

  MarylandJun 19 (in lieu)

  MassachusettsJun 19

  MichiganJun 19

  MissouriJun 19

  NebraskaJun 19

  New JerseyJun 16

  New MexicoJun 19

  New YorkJun 19

  OhioJun 19

  OregonJun 19

  South DakotaJun 19

  TexasJun 19

  USAJun 19

  UtahJun 19

  VirginiaJun 19

  WashingtonJun 19

Related holidays
  • USA Emancipation Day

When is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth National Independence Day is a US federal holiday. It was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Thursday June 17th 2021.

Juneteenth is a state holiday observed in 18 states and D.C. on June 19th each year.  

If June 19th falls on a weekend, the federal holiday and most state holidays will observe a holiday on the closest working weekday. In New Jersey, Juneteenth is observed as a state and public holiday on the third Friday in June. 

All other states officially recognize Juneteenth and have an official observance of the day, and most states hold celebrations. 

30% of private employers offer Juneteenth as a paid holiday in 2022, according to survey data from the Wisconsin-based International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

Officially known as Emancipation Day and also called Juneteenth Independence Day and Freedom Day, Juneteenth is a portmanteau word for June and nineteenth and commemorates the June 19th 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas and the emancipation of African-American slaves throughout the Confederate South.

History of Juneteenth

On January 1st 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared the end of slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation. Two and half years later, and two months after the end of the Civil War, Union troops arrived in Galveston on June 19th 1865 to find that news of the proclamation had not yet reached Galveston and that people were still being held as slaves in Texas.

The leader of the Union Troops, General Gordon Granger then formally announced the emancipation from the balcony of the former Confederate Army headquarters.

The reason why the news about the emancipation took so long to reach Texas is subject to speculation. One theory is that the messenger who was originally sent with the news had been killed before he reached Texas. A more likely scenario is that the local slave owners simply held onto the information, ignoring the emancipation order.

Although the news of the emancipation reached towns at different times across the South, there was a collective decision to recognize 19th June as the date of the emancipation. The date of the proclamation itself (January 1st) wasn't considered as the people wanted to mark the date when the slaves' lives were actually affected by the new freedom.

In 1866, thousands of former slaves traveled back to Galveston on June 19 in recognition of their newfound freedom, calling the gathering Jubilee Day. In 1872, when faced with backlash for their pilgrimage back to the island city, a group of Black Americans purchased 10 acres of land in Houston and named it Emancipation Park. It was devoted specifically as a Juneteenth celebration site and is still around to this day.

The annual commemoration of June 19th, which became known as Juneteenth, was seen as a stabilizing and motivating presence in the lives of African-Americans in Texas, who despite their newly-acquired freedom, still faced many uncertainties and challenges.

Celebrations include parades, storytelling, barbecue and baseball. Strawberry soda pop is the drink of choice and the building from which General Granger read the Proclamation is now a historic landmark.

While Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States, it wasn't until 1980 that it was made an official state paid holiday in Texas, through the efforts of Texas state Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston. Note that state offices are not closed, but are staffed by a "skeleton crew."

When Juneteenth was officially named a national federal holiday in June 2021, the city of Galveston dedicated a 5,000 square-foot mural titled “Absolute Equality” near the location where General Granger announced the news of freedom.

Juneteenth flag

The Juneteenth flag was created in 1997 by Ben Haith, the founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation. 

Each element represents a facet of freedom for Black Americans:

The bursting outline around the star is inspired by a nova - a new star, representing a new beginning for the newly freed slaves. The white star in the center of the flag has a dual meaning, Haith said. It represents both Texas, the Lone Star State, but also the freedom of all Black Americans in all 50 states. The curving arc across the width of the flag represents a new horizon: the opportunities and promise that lay ahead for Black Americans. The red, white and blue represents the American flag, a reminder that the enslaved people and their descendants were and are Americans. 

Sources

  • National Juneteenth Observance Foundation

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Does NJ recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday?

Gov. Phil Murphy signed it into law in September 2020, and the first state holiday was last year. With last year's June 19 falling on a weekend, Sweeney said leaders decided to make it a “real holiday,” with it always being a three-day weekend, rather than a rolling date.

Do NJ schools have off for Juneteenth?

All schools are closed.

Is Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2022 in NJ?

Juneteenth observed by NJ, federal government. For the first time on Monday, Juneteenth will be recognized as both a state and federal holiday.

Is Juneteenth a federal holiday for all states?

Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021. All 50 states and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or observance, and at least 21 states and the District of Columbia have designated Juneteeth as a permanent paid and/or legal holiday through legislation or executive action.