Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Would be good to know so as I can prepare myself mentally for a shortfall through the start of next week.
Thanks
What? Did you think they were planning for disasters and mapping out ways to protect taxpayers? Nope. They're just fiddling away the hours til 3:30 or so, when it's time to start packing up.
You should see no drop in traffic in my opinion.
Cheers,
CaboWabo
Gosh... Groundhog Day, Independence Day. Do US government workers really get a day off to celebrate all these films? What about The Longest Day? or The Day After Tomorrow? or One Day In September? or April Fool's Day? They may as well celebrate: "Every Day... Every Night"!
On a serious note, it would be useful to know what the major national holidays are in the US. I haven't found a list that distinguishes between major/minor holidays - just simple lists of dates. Could someone either provide or point to an authoritative list of major holidays? Thanks in advance.
it would be useful to know what the major national holidays are in the US.
Let me give it a shot. Anyone, please feel free to add or correct the list.
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New Year’s Day: January 1st. Major – Many people also take off the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Martin Luther King Day: Third Monday of January. Between a Major and Minor – Many employers close on this day. It is the PC thing to do.
Presidents' Day: It is celebrated on the third Monday in February. Minor.
Memorial Day: Celebrated on the fourth Monday of May. Major – first big holiday of the Summer season.
Fourth of July, or Independence Day: July 4th. Major – If the date falls in the week, many will take off the weekdays before or after to create a “long weekend.”
Labor Day: The first Monday of September. Major – Last big holiday of the Summer season.
Columbus Day: Takes place on the second Monday in October. Minor.
Veterans Day: November 11th. Minor.
Thanksgiving Day: The fourth Thursday in November. Major – Many businesses also close on the next day (Friday) to make a “long weekend.”
Christmas Day: December 25th. Major – Many businesses close early on the 24th also and many people also take off the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Thanks
Also keep in mind major sporting events that can affect certain industries or even traffic as a whole like the World Series, Super Bowl...
Significant American Holidays
Halloween -- October 31 (Unofficial but popular, may affect some traffic)
Thanksgiving Day -- Fourth Thursday of November (4 day weekend. Major holiday)
Christmas Eve -- December 24 (Not official, usually a half day for shopping, traffic Killer)
Christmas Day -- December 25 (Major holiday)
New Year's Eve -- December 31 (Not official, but a traffic killer)
New Year's Day -- January 1 (Major holiday)
Easter Sunday -- 46 days after Ash Wednesday - April 16, 2006 (Less significant each year)
Memorial Day -- Last Monday of May (Lots of barbeques, Sometimes will affect the weekend)
Independence Day -- July 4 (Lots of barbeques, Sometimes will affect the weekend)
Labor Day -- First Monday of September (Last big gasp of summer before going back to the grind)
Lesser American Holidays
Columbus Day -- Second Monday of October (Insignificant)
Election Day -- Tuesday on or after November 2 (Might impact in Presidential years)
Veterans Day -- November 11th (Insignificant)
Birthday of Martin Luther King -- Third Monday in January (Insignificant)
Groundhog Day -- February 2 (Major traffic boost for groundhog sites)
Lincoln's Birthday -- February 12 (Insignificant)
Valentine's Day -- February 14 - sweets, flowers, cards (Insignificant for most)
Washington's Birthday -- February 22 (Insignificant)
St. Patrick's Day -- March 17 (Major traffic boost for leprechaun and green beer sites)
April Fools's Day -- April 1 (Insignificant)
Earth Day -- April 22 (Insignificant)
Mothers' Day -- Second Sunday in May (Lots of Email on this day)
Fathers' Day -- Third Sunday in June (Insignificant)
Does the US celebrate Boxing Day (26th Dec)? In the UK, Boxing Day is a major holiday, so we close down for 2 working days, or 2½ if you include Christmas Eve afternoon, when many businesses shut. A lot of people take holidays between Christmas and New Year, so even the working days then are very quiet.
Also, what about Easter Monday? Again in the UK, most businesses close down for 2 to 2½ working days over Easter, from Thursday lunchtime to Tuesday morning.
Also, what are the typical school holidays (which can also affect traffic). In the UK they are:
- a couple of weeks over Christmas/New Year
- a week for half-term between New Year and Easter
- a couple of weeks over Easter
- a week half term between Easter and Summer
- 6 weeks over summer from mid-July to start-September
- a week half-term between Sept and Christmas
I'd also be interested in Australian holidays, if there are any Bruces or Sheilas on the forum, as upside-down land probably provides our third biggest source of revenue.
Halloween -- October 31 (Unofficial but popular, may affect some traffic)
Groundhog Day -- February 2 (Major traffic boost for groundhog sites)
Lincoln's Birthday -- February 12 (Insignificant)
Valentine's Day -- February 14 - sweets, flowers, cards (Insignificant for most)
Washington's Birthday -- February 22 (Insignificant)
St. Patrick's Day -- March 17 (Major traffic boost for leprechaun and green beer sites)
April Fool’s Day -- April 1 (Insignificant)
Earth Day -- April 22 (Insignificant)
Mothers' Day -- Second Sunday in May (Lots of Email on this day)
Fathers' Day -- Third Sunday in June (Insignificant)
We are talking about holidays, not events created by the hallmark greeting card people. None of these are holidays in the USA.
Easter Sunday -- 46 days after Ash Wednesday - April 16, 2006 (Less significant each year)
Election Day -- Tuesday on or after November 2 (Might impact in Presidential years)
Not a holiday in the USA.
And what about Good Friday (Friday before Easter Sunday)?
The stock markets are closed, but nothing else. Not a holiday.
Easter Monday is also for the most part nonexistent in America.
Good Friday also is nonexistent outside church. So if your website sells hot cross buns, you can forget about cracking the American market.
American school holidays are much more decentralised than British and European hols. Generally speaking, 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year (varies). Two to three months over summer (varies). Spring break lasts a week, but is variable regionally from just after Mardi Gras until around Easter.
We are talking about holidays, not events created by the hallmark greeting card people. None of these are holidays in the USA.
I think you're nitpicking about holidays Never_Again. I was running through days that are generally marked on calendars that non-American's might question in significance. The point was to give non-Americans an idea of which days are significant and which are not. For example, I've met many Europeans who thought that Halloween is an official holiday, because of it's significant media and cultural attention.
Not only that, I would say that 30 years ago, Easter Sunday rivaled Thanksgiving as an observed holiday. At that time we generally didn't have 'Spring Break', we had 'Easter Vacation'. For some people on this board who are old enough (and there are some) to have visited the U.S. 30 years ago would find that Easter no longer has the same significance that it once did.
If you want to get technical, Washington's Birthday is a U.S. National Holiday created by an Act of Congress not by Hallmark.
The following comes from a U.S. Navy website.
In the United States, there are 10 federal holidays set by law: Legal holidays: USC Title 5 Section 6103Under current definitions, four are set by date:
New Year's Day January 1
Independence Day July 4
Veterans Day November 11
Christmas Day December 25If any of the above fall on a Saturday, then Friday may be observed as a holiday by various institutions. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday may be observed as a holiday.
The other six are set by a day of the week and month:
Martin Luther King's Birthday ...... Third Monday in January
Washington's Birthday ...... Third Monday in February
Memorial Day ...... Last Monday in May
Labor Day ...... First Monday in September
Columbus Day ...... Second Monday in October
Thanksgiving ...... Fourth Thursday in November
One last thing. Although significant for trading in Britain, there is no half-term in the USA.
In 2006, Indepdendence Day will most likely be a day off for non-gov. workers on July 3rd....
Darn. And we've spent a fortune developing special thermos boxes to ensure our cross buns reach the American consumer at the same temperature that they leave our bakery in London.
EFV wrote:
>A day or a weekend doesn't represent a trend
Agreed. But when you are analysing trends statistically, it can be helpful to have explanations for OOPS (Out Of Pattern Scores). And holidays, in themselves, can have predictable patterns associated with them.
Besides, what else is there to talk about? England's qualification to the World Cup?
England's qualification to the World Cup?
/offtopic
Turn them on in MS Outlook then look at the monthly view. They're there for all to see folks - and for several different countries :)
My advice: Don't waste time trying to analyze your revenues according to the calendar. If your traffic and earnings are down for a day or a weekend, it could be due to a holiday or any number of things. A day or a weekend doesn't represent a trend, so save your brainpower for more productive and profitable pursuits.
However, you might be able to turn that around and use awareness of public holidays to boost traffic with well targetted content written a month or two in advance.
