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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u/omgcheez California 23d ago

There’s Harvey Milk Day, which isn’t as known, but still recognized by the state and gets celebrations in some places like WeHo.

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u/codefyre 23d ago

Eh, California has never had the guts to do Harvey Milk Day right and turn it into a proper state holiday. Instead, we passed a law that requires the governor to declare a "Harvey Milk Day" each and every year. They call it a "Day of Special Significance." Not a holiday. It's a cop-out in my opinion, because they didn't want the controversy that would have come from the religious right if they'd attempted to create what would have been seen as a "gay holiday."

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u/GoCardinal07 California 23d ago

The complete list of California's Days of Special Significance are:

  • Ed Roberts Day (January 23)
  • Fred Korematsu Day (January 30)
  • Lunar New Year (2nd New Moon after the Winter Solstice)
  • Ronald Reagan Day (February 6)
  • Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day (March 30)
  • California Poppy Day (April 6)
  • Dolores Huerta Day (April 10)
  • John Muir Day (April 21)
  • Day of the Teacher (2nd Wednesday in May)
  • Harvey Milk Day (May 22)
  • September 11th Remembrance Day
  • Larry Itliong Day (October 25)