In what had long been celebrated every May 30 to honor America’s fallen soldiers, Memorial Day officially became a federal holiday in 1971, observed on the last Monday in May.
Businesses increasingly have chosen to stay open, leading to what is now one of the biggest retail sales and travel weekends of the year.
Here’s what is open and closed this year on Memorial Day:
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
Government offices, post offices, courts and schools are closed.
BANKS AND MARKETS
U.S. stock markets and banks are closed Monday.
Most FedEx and UPS pickup and delivery services will also not be available on Memorial Day, though some special services will be accessible.
RETAILERS
Warehouse membership club Costco will be closed on Memorial Day, but the vast majority of retailers will be open, with many trying to lure customers with big promotional sales. Hours may vary by location.
TRAVEL
Memorial Day is also considered the unofficial opening of the summer travel season. Americans are expected to get away in record numbers over the long Memorial Day weekend even as economic and technical worries rattle the U.S. travel industry.
Auto club AAA projects that more than 45 million people — 1.4 million more than last year — will venture at least 50 miles from their homes between Thursday and Monday, with the vast majority going by car. The holiday’s previous domestic travel record of 44 million people was set 20 years ago.
AAA’s fuel tracker shows motorists can expect to pay less for gasoline this year. The U.S. average price on Wednesday was $3.18 for a gallon of regular gas compared to $3.60 a year ago.
AAA projects 39.4 million people will travel by car over the weekend — the highest number for that holiday since AAA began tracking it in 2000 — and that another 3.61 million people will travel by air, a nearly 2% increase over last year’s 3.55 million.
Air safety has been on the minds of travelers after a midair collision in January of a passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter above Washington, D.C. killed 67 people. There have also been some close calls.
In recent weeks, flight delays and cancellations stemming from an air traffic controller shortage and equipment failures at a facility that directs aircraft in and out of the Newark, New Jersey, airport have also made some people reluctant to get on a plane.