A new federal holiday in Easter? This is the new bill that wants to make it happen

It’s one of the most important religious holidays in the Christian calendar and yet Easter is not a federal holiday in the United States. There are several reasons for this, which we will come to but this month, Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt introduced a bill to make Easter Monday a legal public holiday.

Schmitt gave grounds for his ’Easter Monday Act of 2025′, arguing that 81% of residents of the United States celebrate the holiday.

Long three-month gap between federal holidays

He adds that, making Easter Monday a federal holiday would also break up the lengthy gap in federal holidays that exists between Presidents Day (the third Monday in February) and Memorial Day celebrated on the last Monday in May which he points out is “the longest unbroken work stretch of the calendar”.

“Recently, I proudly introduced a bill to establish Easter Monday as a federal holiday in the United States. Despite only two-thirds of Americans identifying as Christian, more than 80% of Americans celebrate Easter each year. The current lack of a federal Easter Holiday significantly limits Americans’ ability to celebrate with friends, family, and church communities. I am honored to be leading this charge to not only bring increased economic opportunity for our communities, but to establish a much-needed holiday for millions of Americans to celebrate the defining moment of the faith that shaped our civilization”.

Schmitt stressed: “This isn’t a radical idea. It’s a federal recognition of a tradition that is central to Western civilization—a tradition that’s already recognized as a public holiday in nations across (and beyond!) the West, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most of Western Europe".

The reasons why Easter is not a federal holiday in the United States

There are many reasons why Easter isn’t a federal holiday in the United States. Firstly, the Constitution mandates that the church and the state are separate, which prevents the government from endorsing or promoting a specific religion.

And secondly, it would be too expensive to add another holiday to the calendar. Businesses would still have to pay employees to take the day off work while losing revenue by being closed.

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