# Title 1 — General Provisions

## Chapter 1-03 — Holidays

### § 1-03-01. Holidays.

Holidays are as follows:
1. Every Sunday.
2. The first day of January, which is New Year's Day.
3. The third Monday of January, which is Martin Luther King Day, in recognition of the life,
legacy, and dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.
4. The third Monday in February, in recognition of the birthday of George Washington.
5. The Friday next preceding Easter Sunday and commonly known as Good Friday.
6. The last Monday in May, which is Memorial Day.
7. The fourth day of July, which is the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
8. The first Monday in September, which is Labor Day.
9. The eleventh day of November, which is Veterans' Day.
10. The fourth Thursday in November, which is Thanksgiving Day.
11. The twenty-fifth day of December, which is Christmas Day.
12. Every day appointed by the President of the United States or by the governor of this
state for a public holiday.
Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent the holding of legislative sessions or the
taking of final action on any legislative matter upon any of such holidays other than Sunday. Any
action heretofore taken upon any legislative matter upon any such holiday is valid and legal for
all purposes.
### § 1-03-01.1. Closing of state offices - Christmas Eve.

State offices must be closed at twelve noon on December twenty-fourth, Christmas Eve day,
unless it is a weekend or holiday pursuant to section 1-03-02.1.
### § 1-03-02. When day following holiday shall be a holiday.

If the first day of January, the fourth day of July, the eleventh day of November, or the
twenty-fifth day of December falls upon a Sunday, the Monday following shall be the holiday.
### § 1-03-02.1. When holiday falls on a Saturday.

If any of the holidays enumerated in section 1-03-02 fall on a Saturday, the Friday
immediately before shall be the holiday.
### § 1-03-03. Sports on Memorial Day - Penalty.

No person, prior to the hour of two p.m. of the day set apart as Memorial Day, may engage
in organized or commercial ball games, horseracing, sports, or any entertainment which will
interfere with the proper observance of such day. Any violation of this section is an infraction.
### § 1-03-04. Business days.

All days other than those mentioned in sections 1-03-01, 1-03-02, and 1-03-02.1 are to be
deemed business days for all purposes. However, any bank may remain closed on any one
business day of each week, as it may from time to time elect. Any day upon which a bank is so
closed shall be, with respect to such bank, a holiday and not a business day. Any act
authorized, required, or permitted to be performed at or by or with respect to such bank on such
day, may be performed on the next succeeding business day, and no liability or loss of rights
shall result from such delay.
Notice of intention on the part of any bank to remain closed on a business day of the week
shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the lobby of the bank at least ten days prior to the
establishment of such practice and similar notice shall be given when a bank elects to change
the day of the week on which it remains closed. Any state bank establishing the practice, as
hereinbefore provided, of closing one day a week shall give ten days' notice in writing to the
commissioner of financial institutions, in addition to posting the notice in the lobby. However, any

bank may elect to remain closed on a business day of the week without any prior notice in the
event of the following emergencies: any act of God, death of an officer, or a robbery.
### § 1-03-05. Act due on Saturday or holiday performed on next day.

Whenever an act of a secular nature, other than a work of necessity or mercy, is appointed
by law or contract to be performed upon a particular day, that falls upon a Saturday or a holiday,
the act may be performed upon the next business day with the same effect as if it had been
performed upon the day appointed.
### § 1-03-06. Mothers' Day.

The governor each year shall designate the second Sunday in May as Mothers' Day. The
governor shall issue a proclamation requesting the people of the state to assemble on that
Sunday in their churches, or at such other place or places as may be most convenient and
proper, for the purpose of paying respect and tribute to our mothers.
### § 1-03-07. Arbor Day.

In order to promote and encourage the planting of trees in this state, the first Friday in May
of each year is hereby designated and established as "Arbor Day" for the state of North Dakota.
### § 1-03-08. Bird Day.

To promote and encourage the conservation and enjoyment of one of nature's most
attractive features, and to honor the birth and work of naturalist John James Audubon who
made America's birds known to the world through his drawings and vivid prose, April
twenty-sixth of each year is hereby designated as "Bird Day" in the state of North Dakota.
### § 1-03-09. Martin Luther King Day.

Repealed by S.L. 1991, ch. 55, § 2.
### § 1-03-10. Workers' Memorial Day.

The twenty-eighth day of April of each year is designated as Workers' Memorial Day in
remembrance of American workers who have been killed, injured, or diseased on the job.
### § 1-03-11. Gold Star Mothers' Day.

Each year the governor shall issue a proclamation designating the last Sunday of
September as Gold Star Mothers' Day in honor of mothers whose sons or daughters served and
died in the line of duty in the armed forces of the United States of America or its allies, or died
as a result of injury sustained in such service.
### § 1-03-12. Four Chaplains Sunday.

Each year the governor shall issue a proclamation designating the first Sunday of February
as Four Chaplains Sunday in honor of the four United States army chaplains, George L. Fox,
Alexander D. Goode, Clark V. Poling, and John P. Washington, who sacrificed their own lives to
save the lives of other servicemen on the Dorchester, a United States army troop transport ship
that was sunk off the coast of Greenland on February 3, 1943.
### § 1-03-13. Indigenous Peoples Day.

To recognize the indigenous peoples of the State of North Dakota and their contributions to
the state and to the United States, the governor shall issue a proclamation each year
designating the Friday before the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day.
### § 1-03-14. Vietnam Veterans' Day.

March twenty-ninth of each year is Vietnam Veterans' Day. Each year the governor shall
issue a proclamation on March twenty-ninth in honor and remembrance of surviving and
departed Vietnam veterans, including the one hundred ninety-eight individuals from North

Dakota whose names are listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, District
of Columbia, and those veterans who are or were missing in action or prisoners of war.
### § 1-03-15. Women Veterans' Month.

March of each year is Women Veterans' Month. Each year the governor shall issue a
proclamation on March first in honor and remembrance of surviving and departed women
veterans who have served honorably and with courage on behalf of the United States of
America since the American Revolutionary War.
### § 1-03-16. Firefighters memorial weekend.

Each year the governor shall issue a proclamation designating the dates of the national
fallen firefighters memorial weekend as the North Dakota fallen firefighters memorial weekend
and require that flags at state buildings be flown at half staff.
### § 1-03-17. Patriots' Day.

The third Monday in April of each year is Patriots' Day. To commemorate the start of the
American Revolutionary War and the battles of Lexington and Concord, the governor shall issue
a proclamation each year designating the third Monday in April as Patriots' Day. This section
may not be interpreted to make Patriots' Day a day on which schools and other entities are
required to close.
### § 1-03-18. Juneteenth.

To commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States, the nineteenth of June of each
year is designated and established as Juneteenth for the state of North Dakota.
### § 01-03-19. Right-To-Life Day.

To celebrate the right-to-life, reaffirm the dignity and value of every human being, and to
give thanks for the gift of life, the twenty-second of January of each year is designated and
established as Right-To-Life Day.
### § 1-03-20. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day.

To celebrate the life of all affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, reaffirm the dignity
and value of every human being, and to create awareness of the number of people affected by
the disorder, the ninth day of September of each year is designated and established as Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day for the state of North Dakota.
### § 1-03-21. Military Appreciation Month.

May of each year is Military Appreciation Month. Each year the governor shall issue a
proclamation on May first in honor of the men and women of the United States armed forces
who have served and are now serving, and the significant contributions and incredible sacrifices
they have made and continue to make in the defense of this nation and the preservation of our
freedom.
### § 1-03-22. Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Day.

The third Friday in September of each year is Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Day. To
remember and honor the sacrifices of those who were held captive and returned, as well as
those who remain missing, the governor shall issue a proclamation each year designating the
third Friday in September as Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Day, a state holiday. This
section may not be interpreted to make Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Day a day on
which schools and other entities are required to close.
### § 1-03-23. North Dakota Constitution Day.

To commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of North Dakota on August 17, 1889, by
constitutional convention, and the ratification by vote on October 1, 1889, by the people of the
territory that would become North Dakota, and to encourage state citizens to seek greater

knowledge and understanding of the Constitution of North Dakota, the first of October of each
year is designated and established as North Dakota Constitution Day.
