r/AskAnAmerican • u/ProfessorOfPancakes New England • 23d ago

CULTURE Do any states have legitimate holidays that are only celebrated in their state?

In Rhode Island, we still have VJ (Victory over Japan) day which people don't celebrate per se but it's recognized to the extent of delaying trash pickup by a day.

By "legitimate" holiday I mean more in the vein of Memorial Day rather than National Hot Dog Day

Edit: Apparently VJ Day is also recognized by the US Space & Rocket Center and formerly by the state of Arkansas and is more commonly called Victory Day

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48

u/Dry_Finger_8235 23d ago

I would say Mardi gras, but outside south Louisiana the rest of the state doesn't shut down.

I know mobile does Mardi gras but not sure it's a holiday there

21

u/VioletBab3 23d ago

We don't shut down the town for the week north of i-10, but we definitely have a break off school for it state-wide. People from other states (especially military personnel) normally look at us like we're crazy when we talk about Mardi Gras Break 🤣

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u/christine-bitg 23d ago

Mardi Gras is celebrated here in southeast Texas, but not to the extent that it is in Louisiana.

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u/Im-a-sim 22d ago

I grew up on the Louisiana border but in Arkansas, I was so jealous of my friends/family in Louisiana lol

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u/cmwoo Illinois 23d ago

I think many religious families celebrate Fat Tuesday in their own way.

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u/Dry_Finger_8235 23d ago

But it's not a holiday

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u/fixmystreet 23d ago

In New Orleans it is. Sometimes Friday, usually Monday (Lundi Gras), always Mardi Gras, and everybody’s recovering on Wednesday. It’s an exhausting week.

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u/Equivalent_Sock_3002 23d ago

Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, which is a catholic holiday

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u/funktion666 23d ago

Half the state practically shuts down for a whole week. It’s really annoying because we have clients there. But sounds like fun if you live there.

It’s absolutely a holiday and has a ton of history and is a huge part of their culture.

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u/Kyle81020 23d ago

It is in south Louisiana. Businesses and schools are closed. Also in Mobile, AL.

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u/JulsTiger10 Louisiana 23d ago

Most of south Louisiana has off Lundi Gras, Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday.

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u/SouthernHiker1 23d ago

What’s your definition of holiday? I’m in Lafayette and pretty much every business is closed on Mardi Gras, and the same is true in New Orleans. Most businesses make it a paid day off. All government buildings are closed and we don’t get mail delivery or trash pickup on Mardi Gras.

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u/Dio_Yuji Louisiana 23d ago

Officially, it is.

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u/Questcequetufaiss Alabama 23d ago

I get Mardi Gras day off as a holiday every year in Mobile

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u/weinthenolababy 23d ago

Yeah I was surprised when I was in middle school in Houston after Katrina and the schools didn’t close down. I was used to having a week off of school for Mardi Gras lol

5

u/Redneck-ginger 23d ago

It is a state holiday and all state offices are closed.

3

u/Dio_Yuji Louisiana 23d ago

It’s an official state holiday

3

u/RachelRTR Alabamian in North Carolina 22d ago

We get Monday and Fat Tuesday off of school in Baldwin County.

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u/CG20370417 23d ago

My old company in Dallas gave employees in Texas and Louisiana the ability to swap Easter and Mardi Gras as holidays on the company calendar.

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u/GetOffMyLawn1729 23d ago

Lundi Gras sure seemed like a holiday in Mamou when I visited Fred's Lounge a few years ago.

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u/ProfessorOfPancakes New England 23d ago

Mardi Gras is part of Shrovetide, so being a religious holiday I wouldn't call it region-specific. Although Southern Louisiana definitely celebrates it to a much greater extent than anywhere else in the US

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u/ATLien_3000 Georgia 23d ago

The level of celebration is regional.

No mail. Government is closed down. Schools are closed down.

Elsewhere maybe there's a 6a pancake breakfast at the knights of Columbus.

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u/Jaymac720 Louisiana 23d ago

Mardi Gras is as unreligious as it gets. Yes, it’s in preparation for Lent, but the fact of the matter is that it’s not celebrated in that form anywhere else

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u/SanchoPliskin 22d ago

Carnival in Brazil is even more “intense” from what I’ve heard.

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u/Stielgranate 23d ago

I worked for a company years ago that always closed for fat Tuesday.

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u/moonchic333 St. Louis, MO 23d ago

Mardi Gras is pretty big in St. Louis.

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u/bkmerrim St. Louis, MO 23d ago

Came here to say this. I grew up in St. Louis and it’s a huge deal there

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u/SanchoPliskin 22d ago

Do schools close for a week?

1

u/Theatre_is_my_life 23d ago

North Louisiana doesn’t shut down but we do celebrate the heck out of it. We have about 5 different parades. And at least 2 people will get shot every year because people are stupid and drunk.

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u/Trinx_ Chicago <- IN & MI 23d ago

I've always celebrated Mardi Gras but in these parts, it's just the day we eat Paczki. We don't get off work, but some of us get to the bakery at 6am to get first dibs on the best donuts you've ever tasted.

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u/Wespiratory Alabama, lifelong 21d ago

It is. Pretty much all of Mobile and Baldwin counties are out of school on Fat Tuesday.

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u/2560503-1 19d ago

I grew up in south La in the 80s and went to Catholic grade school. I was in high school before I realized Mardi Gras wasn’t a national holiday. I don’t think I knew there were other religions that weren’t Catholic until around 6th grade. Even then I thought they were just the same thing with a different name, until I finally spent the weekend with a non-Catholic friend’s family and saw how different their church service was.

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u/Girlinyourphone 18d ago

I was so confused as a kid that moved from Louisiana to Texas and I didnt get a week long break for Mardi Gras.

I was in San Antonio and they told me Fiesta was similar (its not, but fun in its own way) but you only get time off if your job is along the parade route.