Martin L. King's Birthday

Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., often called MLK Day, is an annual U.S. federal holiday on which federal offices close by law. It was created by Public Law 98-144, signed November 2, 1983, and first observed January 20, 1986. Since 1994 it has also been a national day of community service. It honors King's life and legacy of racial equality and nonviolent social change.

The USA.gov portal lists it among 12 federal holidays, and the Office of Personnel Management publishes the yearly dates. Arabic financial media call the holiday "Youm Martin Luther" and write the person's name as "Martin Luther King Junior" elsewhere. It covers the United States at federal level, measures nothing, and uses no sample or survey. It is not an economic indicator, so it gives no level, forecast, or trading signal.

It is observed every year on the 3rd Monday of January, always between January 15 and January 21. It is a full-day closure with no release time and no time zone, and it never shifts for weekends because Monday is always a weekday. The rule is fixed by statute, and only an Act of Congress can change it; the Office of Personnel Management prints each yearly date.

Treat it as a closure, not a trading signal: federal offices and U.S. equity markets close. Private businesses, retailers, and local governments close only voluntarily, and trading resumes on Tuesday.

It has no market drivers, weights, or components because it is a single-date observance.

• Statutory name: the legal holiday name in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a) that states what the day commemorates.
• Date rule: the 3rd Monday of January that fixes the observance each year.
• Purpose: honoring King's life and legacy and encouraging community service and interracial cooperation.

For 2024 the Office of Personnel Management listed Monday, January 15, 2024 for the holiday, which matched King's birth date of January 15, 1929. That match marked his 95th birthday (2024 minus 1929), but it was a coincidence, not the rule. The same rule gave Monday, January 20, 2025, 5 days after the birth date. The first observance used the same rule on Monday, January 20, 1986, proclaimed as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Proclamation 5431.

1. Date rule: the observance is the 3rd Monday of January of that year, always falling between January 15 and January 21.
2. Holiday effect: that Monday is the holiday: federal offices and equity markets close, and the Office of Personnel Management lists that date.
3. Worked example: in January 2024, January 1 was a Monday, so Mondays were January 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29. The 3rd Monday was therefore January 15, matching the Office of Personnel Management 2024 schedule.