Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on Jan. 20, 2025. It’s also the day that Donald Trump will be inaugurated for his historic second term.
Do you know what places are open on MLK Day? What places will be closed and who will be off work? Here’s what you need to know.
Why is MLK Day on Jan. 20?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is always scheduled to take place on the third Monday in January. President Ronald Regan signed the bill creating the holiday into federal law in 1983. It was first observed in 1986.
In Mississippi, MLK Day also honors Robert E. Lee
When the federal holiday was adopted in the 1980s, Mississippi lawmakers opted to add it to an existing holiday honoring Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
Attempts to separate the holidays through legislation have failed, including an attempt introduced in 2024 by State Rep. Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus, that died in committee.
How do people celebrate MLK Day?
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Civil Rights leader.
Groups often organize volunteer events through the weekend for MLK Day of Service in his memory. Communities also hold parades or hold events honoring people who have worked to improve their neighborhoods and help others.
The only other state celebrating Robert E. Lee Day and King together is Alabama.
Is Inauguration Day a federal holiday?
Trump’s inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
But Inauguration Day normally a federal holiday?
Technically, yes. But the answer might surprise you.
According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, federal workers in Washington, D.C. can take Inauguration Day as a federal holiday. It’s a normal day for other federal workers.
President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will take their oaths of office in front of thousands of people, and the event will be streamed live.
So far, Carrie Underwood has signed on to sing “America The Beautiful” at the swearing-in ceremony, and the Village People are on tap for inauguration-related events. The Mean Green marching band at Mississippi Valley State University was invited to play in the parade.
Other star-studded acts taking part in the celebrations will be announced later.
Will I get mail? Will banks be open? Will schools be closed?
Mail will not run, and post offices will be closed. UPS also will be closed, and FedEx will have modified FedEx1 service but be open otherwise.
Banks will be closed.
Public schools usually close. Check your child’s school calendar to be sure.
Will flags be half-staff on Inauguration Day?
President Joe Biden announced Monday, Dec. 30 that all U.S. flags will fly at half-staff to honor the death of former President Jimmy Carter. Carter, The former governor of Georgia died at 100 on Sunday, Dec. 29, at his home in Georgia. (Biden also set Thursday, Jan. 9, as a national day of mourning.)
The flags will be lowered for a full 30 days following Carter’s passing, which would end Jan. 28. The length of time flags should be at half-staff after the death of a former president were set in 1954. Private companies and citizens can choose to display flags at half-staff.
Trump complained about the flags being at half-staff on Truth Social.
“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” Trump said in a post. He used the term for flags being halfway up the mast of a ship, not a flagpole. “They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves.”
Photos show the flags were at full-staff as of Monday, Jan. 13, at Trump’s Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered that flags will be raised for the inauguration.
“While we honor the service of a former President, we must also celebrate the service of an incoming President and the bright future ahead for the United States of America,” Abbott said in a news release Monday.
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: What’s open or closed on MLK Day? What you need to know in Mississippi