While the demand to rename Columbus Day continues to gain traction in other parts of the country, here in New York State it remains an official state holiday.
In New York State, the fourth Saturday of September is designated Native-American Day, one of 40 days of commemoration in New York State Law. These include:
January 6: Haym Salomon Day
January 27: Holocaust Remembrance Day
February 4: Rosa Parks Day
February 15: Susan B. Anthony Day
February 16: Lithuanian Independence Day
February 28: Gulf War Veterans’ Day
March 4: Pulaski Day
March 10: Harriet Tubman Day
March 29: Vietnam Veterans’ Day
April 9: POW Recognition Day
April 27: Coretta Scott King Day
April 28: Workers’ Memorial Day
First Tuesday in May: New York State Teacher Day
May 17: Thurgood Marshall Day
First Sunday in June: Children’s Day
June 2: Italian Independence Day
June 12: Women Veterans Recognition Day
June 19: Juneteenth Freedom Day
June 25: Korean War Veterans’ Day
Second Monday in July: Abolition Commemoration Day
August 24: Ukrainian Independence Day
August 26: Women’s Equality Day
September 11: Battle of Plattsburgh Day; September 11th Remembrance Day
September 13: John Barry Day; Uncle Sam Day
September 17: Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Memorial Day
Third Friday in September: New York State POW/MIA Recognition Day *
Last Saturday in September: War of 1812 Day
Fourth Saturday of September: Native-American Day
Last Sunday in September: Gold Star Mothers’ Day
October 5: Raoul Wallenberg Day
October 11: New Netherland Day in the State of New York
October 18: Disabilities History Day
October 27: Theodore Roosevelt Day
November 9: Witness for Tolerance Day
November 12: Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day
Third Tuesday in November: NYS School-Related Professionals Recognition Day
November 30: Shirley Chisholm Day
December 3: International Day of Persons with Disabilities
December 7: Pearl Harbor Day
December 16: Bastogne Day
Designated New York State Holidays
January 1: New Year’s Day
January 21: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
February 12: Lincoln’s Birthday
Third Monday of February: Washington’s Birthday (Observed)
Last Monday of May: Memorial Day
June 19: Juneteenth
July 4: Independence Day
First Monday in September: Labor Day
Second Monday of October: Columbus Day
First Tuesday of November: Election Day
November 11: Veterans’ Day
Third Thursday of November: Thanksgiving
December 25: Christmas Day
Designated New York City Holidays
New Moon Between January 21 and February 20: Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year)
Usually in September or October: Rosh Hashanah
Between September 14 and October 14: Yom Kippur
Varies: Eid al-Fitr
Varies: Eid al-Adha
Late October-Early November: Diwali
Other Significant New York State Anniversaries
April 20, 1777: New York State created with approval of the first state constitution by the Convention of Representatives of the State of New York in Kingston.
November 25, 1873: Evacuation Day marking evacuation of British troops from city of New York.
October 17, 1777: Surrender Day marking British Gen. John Burgoyne surrender of 5,000 British and Hessian troops to American General Horatio Gates at Saratoga on October 17, 1777.
October 26, 1825: Erie Canal officially opened linking Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes to the Hudson River, Champlain Canal and the city of New York.
Upcoming Anniversaries
2024: 100th Anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act
2025: 200th Anniversary of Completion of the Erie Canal
2026-2033: 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution
2027: 200th Anniversary of the end of slavery in New York
* If New York State POW/MIA Recognition Day falls on a religious holiday it’s moved to the Second Friday of September.
This is an excellent list but is missing the annual commemoration of the Battle of Valcour – October 11th each year. The first naval battle of the American Revolution has been recognized each year for the past 125 years. Please let me know who manages this list so it can be added.
These are official days of commemoration in New York State Law.
You are missing Evacuation Day November 25.
These are official days of commemoration in New York State Law.
James,
I’ve begun adding important anniversary dates at the bottom of this post. Thanks for the reminder about Evacuation Day.
John
Hello
Abolition Commemoration Day is held the second Monday in July. It commemorates the end of slavery in NYS, which occurred on July 4, 1827. The law went into effect in 2020 and was observed statewide for the first time in 2021.
Thank you Amber – Abolition Commemoration Day is listed above.
Thanks for reading New York Almanack!