For many Americans, the days immediately following Christmas are a whirlwind of leftover pie, family visits, and the slow return to everyday routines. But this year, December 26, 2025, brought a unique twist to the usual post-holiday lull: a rare, one-time federal holiday declared by executive order, courtesy of former President Donald Trump. The move had ripple effects across government operations, banks, and the U.S. Postal Service, leaving many to wonder—just what would be open, and who would be clocking in?
According to USA TODAY, President Trump signed an executive order on December 18, 2025, designating both Christmas Eve (December 24) and the day after Christmas (December 26) as federal holidays for that year. The order stated that “all executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty.” However, as with most things in government, there were exceptions. Heads of executive departments and agencies were empowered to keep certain offices open “for reasons of national security, defense, or other public need.” In other words, while the vast majority of federal workers got a rare extra day off, a select few still had to punch the clock to keep the country running.
This special executive order was not without precedent. As reported by USA TODAY and other outlets, President Joe Biden had taken similar action the previous year, granting federal workers Christmas Eve off in 2024. However, such holidays are not automatically permanent fixtures. For a federal holiday to be observed every year, Congress must pass legislation and the president must sign it into law. The last such addition came in 2021, when Juneteenth was enshrined as a federal holiday under President Biden’s administration.
So what did this mean for everyday Americans trying to mail a package, cash a check, or check their stock portfolio on December 26, 2025? The answer depended on where you looked.
Despite the federal holiday, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced on December 24 that it would “return to normal business hours on Friday, Dec. 26.” That’s right—if you were expecting a mountain of cards or had a belated gift to send, the post office was open for business as usual. Both USA TODAY and AL.com confirmed that post offices, closed on December 25 for Christmas, would reopen on December 26. Mail delivery resumed, and retail transactions were available at local branches. The USPS clarified that while many federal employees were excused from duty, postal workers would be back at their posts, ensuring that mail and packages kept moving through the system.
For those already looking ahead to next year’s schedule, the USPS also published its list of 2026 holidays. According to AL.com, the post office will observe the following holidays in 2026: New Year’s Day (January 1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 19), Presidents Day (February 16), Memorial Day (May 25), Juneteenth (June 19), Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (September 7), Columbus Day (October 12), Veterans Day (November 11), Thanksgiving Day (November 26), and Christmas Day (December 25).
Banks, meanwhile, followed a slightly different playbook. The Federal Reserve indicated that banks would maintain their typical schedule, remaining open for business on December 26. Representatives from major institutions like Wells Fargo and Bank of America confirmed to the El Paso Times that their branches would operate normal hours. So, if you needed to deposit a holiday check or withdraw some cash for post-Christmas sales, you were in luck.
The New York Stock Exchange also got back to business on December 26, reopening for core trading after being closed for Christmas Day. Investors and traders, perhaps eager to see how the holiday season had impacted retail stocks, were able to resume their activities without delay. As USA TODAY noted, the financial markets did not treat the day after Christmas as a holiday, despite the federal government’s closure.
But the federal holiday did have a significant impact on government operations. Most federal offices, from the Social Security Administration to the Department of the Interior, were shuttered for the day. However, the executive order made it clear that essential services—particularly those tied to national security or public need—could remain open at the discretion of agency heads. This meant that while many federal workers enjoyed an extra-long holiday break, others, such as those in law enforcement or emergency management, reported for duty as needed.
For many, the announcement of the executive order came as a pleasant surprise, especially given the hectic nature of the holiday season. As reported by USA TODAY, the order was signed just a week before Christmas, giving federal workers little time to adjust their plans but offering an unexpected bonus day off. The move was generally well-received, though some questioned whether such decisions should be reserved for extraordinary circumstances or made a more regular occurrence.
Of course, not everyone was affected equally. Private businesses were not required to close, and most retailers, restaurants, and service providers operated on normal or slightly reduced hours, depending on local demand. For many Americans, December 26 remained a day of shopping, travel, and family gatherings—albeit with a few more federal offices closed than usual.
It’s worth noting that while executive orders can grant federal workers a day off, they do not automatically extend to state and local government employees, nor to the private sector. As a result, the patchwork of open and closed offices can create confusion, particularly for those trying to navigate government services during the holiday period.
Looking ahead, the process for adding a permanent federal holiday remains unchanged. As USA TODAY explained, only Congress can make such a designation stick year after year. The last successful effort, adding Juneteenth to the federal holiday calendar, required both legislative action and presidential approval. Until then, executive orders like the one issued by President Trump in 2025 will remain rare, one-off events—welcome surprises for some, but not a new normal.
As the holiday season winds down and Americans return to their routines, the events of December 26, 2025, serve as a reminder of the sometimes unpredictable nature of government operations. For one day, at least, the federal workforce got a little more time to savor the season—while the mail kept moving, the banks kept banking, and the markets kept trading. That’s modern America for you: even when the government takes a day off, life finds a way to keep humming along.
