FILE - A shopper moves past a display of American flags in a Costco warehouse on May 18, 2024, in Sheridan, Colo. Costco said it would be closed on July 4th, 2024, but the vast majority of major national retailers will be open, with some offering promotional sales to lure customers.
But observations weren't commonplace until after the War of 1812, when they quickly took off. Congress was late to the party, finally passing a law making Independence Day a federal holiday on June 28, 1870.Government offices, post offices, courts and schools are closed.Most FedEx and UPS pickup and delivery services will also not be available on Independence Day., but the vast majority of major national retailers will be open, with some offering promotional sales to lure customers.
With the Fourth of July holiday falling on a Thursday, many Americans plan to take Friday off too, enabling them to travel for a long weekend. Auto club AAA projects that 70.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the holiday week from Saturday, June 29 to Sunday, July 7. The projected number of travelers for that period is 5% more than last year and 8% more than in 2019.
AAA projects a record 60.6 million people will travel by car during the holiday week, 2.8 million more travelers than last year. AAA is forecasting that a record 5.74 million people will fly to their July Fourth destinations, an increase of nearly 7% over last year and a 12% jump over 2019.