President Trump signed an executive order on the 2025 holiday season, making the two days of the Christmas season (December 24) and (December 26) federal holidays. The order practically provided the federal employee with a five-day weekend since Christmas Day occurred on a Thursday. Although the United States has traditionally acknowledged December 25th as an unchangeable federal statutory public day off, including the days around it as one-time federal holiday days gave millions of civil servants an increased paid leave to enjoy with their families.
The Executive Order: Christmas Eve and Dec 26
On December 18, 2025, the White House gave a proclamation that excused federal employees on Wednesday, December 24, and Friday, December 26. It was an order that governed all the executive departments and agencies of the federal government to shut down with the treating of these dates as the legal holidays on pay and leave issues. Under this requirement, the employees already on annual leave on those days were not billed and those who needed to work due to reasons of national security, defense, or other need of the country enjoyed the luxury of being paid premium vacation.
The meaning of the One-Time Designation
It should be mentioned that though December 24 and 26 were observed as the federal holidays this year, they did not become the permanent list of the U.S. federal holidays. Alterations in the holiday calendar which are permanent must have an act of Congress and a signature into the law. The executive order by President Trump was a short-time action that was limited to the 2025 calendar year, which would give maximum time to the holiday where Christmas Day will be in the middle of the week. This is based on precedent in history whereby sometimes presidents have provided additional time off through executive order, but a second holiday both before and after Christmas is quite uncommon.
USPS, SSA, and IRS
As most federal offices were closed by the executive order, the so-called essential services were kept at differing schedules. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) as an independent agency continued with much normal mail delivery and retail operations on Christmas Eve and on December 26 only breaking to allow the Christmas Day. Social security administration field offices were open with few morning hours on 24 th and 26 th to make sure the population could get in. The U.S. Tax Court and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), on the contrary, were more strict and closed their in-person help centers as well as phone lines during the entire five-day period.
Federal Mandate vs. Private Sector
The issue that was often misunderstood about the President order in the 2025 holiday season was the fact that a small business was not obliged to comply. In the US, federal holiday announcements do not legally bind but require the closure of offices of federal government. These days are not paid time off by any private employer, bank or retail store unless spelled out by that company or their labor contract. As a result, the federal workers had a five-day vacation, and most of the private sector was open on Christmas Eve as part of the last-minute shoppers and closed on December 26 to an immediate sales rush in the After-Christmas sales.
Looking Ahead to 2026 and Beyond
The federal holiday schedule will go back to the normal 11 days as the country enters 2026. Until the congress passes a law that permanently makes Christmas Eve a holiday, it will once again be a regular workday holiday to the federal government in 2026. Nevertheless, the 2025 “Holiday Miracle” has ignited a fresh discussion among the labor supporters regarding the chance of turning the Christmas Eve into a continuous entry in the federal calendar to coincide with most other countries that are celebrating the “Eve” as a national holiday. At this point, the 2025 expansion is a one-year gift to the American civil service that is unique.
2025 Holiday Operational Data
| Date | Federal Status | USPS Operations | Stock Market |
| Dec 24 (Wed) | Holiday (EO) | Normal Delivery | Early Close (1 PM) |
| Dec 25 (Thu) | Permanent Holiday | Closed | Closed |
| Dec 26 (Fri) | Holiday (EO) | Normal Delivery | Open |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is it now a permanent federal holiday of Christmas Eve?
No. Only in 2025 was it declared as a federal holiday through a one- time Executive Order. Unless another order is signed or a law is passed by Congress, it will not become an automatic holiday in 2026.
2. Did we not close banks on the 24 and 26 of this year?
The 24 th and 26 th saw most commercial banks open. Although they observe the same number of holidays as the Federal Reserve, most of the private banks prefer to remain open on the same Executive Order holidays where the government is shut down.
3. Why did the President grant two additional days off?
Since Christmas was on a Thursday, granting the Wednesday and Friday off provided a five-day successive vacation which is frequently done to improve morale and lower the administrative expense of opening the offices on an additional day between holidays.
Disclaimer
The information is strictly informational. The official sources (WhiteHouse.gov or OPM.gov) can be consulted since it is our desire to properly inform all the users according to the Executive Order on 2025.
