Whats the deal with Good Friday in the USA

Phone still ringing off the hook from Americans

[lgn1]

I usually use Holidays to get a lot of work and loose
ends done up. As I don't have to worry about the phone ringing every three minutes.

In Canada Good Friday, is considered the second most sacred holiday, next to Christmas.

However, the phone is ringing off the hook from American customers, and I finally decided to turn the ringer off, and put on an extended absense greeting
for the day.

Whats the deal with Good Friday in the USA. Is it a holiday, government holiday, school holiday or what. Hey the kids, government and unionize employees, and the whole province of Alberta gets Monday off as well, up here in the Great White North.

[hannamyluv]

Well, I'm at work, so it's not a national holiday. I know lots of people who took off today, but for the most part, it's along the same lines as Martin Luther King Day. Kids get off, banks might be closed but the rest of us still have to work.

[lgn1]

Did a quick search by Google, and I guess the whole holiday thing is a mess in the USA, with no federal statutory holidays, and each state deciding on which holidays are observed and if they are statutory (ie your boss cannot make you work).

No wonder the phone never stop ringing from the USA.

[Christi]

Some of it depends on the "culture" of the town. Lots of Catholic schools where I live (a SW American city) and major Catholic/Hispanic population. All the Catholic schools are closed, people take off. A housecleaner said to me last week: "Any day but next Thursday, Friday. Holy Week, you know." But aside from going to church, there's not much else to do but shop!

[lawman]

I give my secretary the following paid holidays:

New Years day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

I also throw in the afternoons of New Years eve, Thanksgiving eve, and Christmas eve.

She better be working her ass off the rest of the time. :)

lawman

[mivox]

With the exceptions of Christmas and Easter, virtually no religious holidays get 'day off' status in the US.

They *almost* closed local schools today for a "Teacher Development Day," but they changed the schedule at the last minute... however, there is no school on Monday. Presumably because no schoolteacher wants to deal with a roomful of kids on a residual easter candy sugar high. ;)

[Christi]

Gee, lawman, that's awfully big of you. Not even the day after Thanksgiving?

[edited by: lawman at 9:57 pm (utc) on April 10, 2004]
[edit reason] spelling [/edit]

[lgn1]

Yes, its time to unionize lawmans office :)

[lawman]

Hey wait a minute guys; I have to work for a living. If I'm working, she's working. :)

[olwen]

In New Zealand you certainly can't shop on Good Friday. But you can watch TV without ads.

[Llama]

I really have no idea what Good Friday's for, but I'm sure glad I get it off. I also got Thursday off. Though I suppose that getting 40 minutes a day more of school kind of evens it out.... all well.