Subjects –
Holidays
The annual Easter egg roll at the Capitol
April 21, 1876
On this date, the House of Representatives passed the Turf Protection Law, which effectively ended the traditional Easter Monday egg roll at the Capitol. Local schools closed each year on the day after Easter to allow children “to ramble at will on the fresh green grass” at the Capitol.
The first Labor Day
June 28, 1894
On this date, President Grover Cleveland signed S. 730 into law declaring Labor Day as a national holiday. Since 1883, Labor Day had been celebrated at the local and state level.
The Thanksgiving holiday
November 28, 1940
The establishing of the last Thursday of November as the legal holiday for Thanksgiving.
A rare Christmas Eve session
December 24, 1963
On this date, the House of Representatives capped off one of the longest continuous sessions in congressional history on the eve of a national holiday.