Mail Holidays

Employees of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and other federal workers normally take about 10 federal holidays each year. Mail is not delivered on these dates. All government offices, and some private businesses like banks, are normally closed on these dates, which include many major holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day.USPS.gov: 2008 Postal Holidays

For the year 2010 there will be ten official U.S. Post Office holidays. In addition, the post office will not be open on New Year's Day, January 11^th. During these eleven days, mail will also not be delivered either. Any mail that would have been scheduled to arrive and be delivered on that day will be included in the mail delivery on the following day. For example, if a postal holiday falls on a Monday, no mail will be delivered on that day and, instead, Monday's mail will be delivered on Tuesday.

• Thursday, January 1: New Year's Day
• Monday, January 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Monday, February 15: President's Day
• Monday, May 31: Memorial Day
• Friday, July 5: Independence Day
• Monday, September 6: Labor Day
• Monday, October 11: Columbus Day
• Wednesday, November 11: Veterans Day
• Thursday, November 25: Thanksgiving Day
• Friday, December 25: Christmas Day
• Saturday, January 1, 2011: New Year's Day

As a government-run agency, the postal service within the United States was first established in 1775. However, the current version of the postal service that exists today was created in 1983 as part of the Postal Reorganization Act. In total, the postal service employees over 650,000 people.

In recent years, the postal service has had to compete with a number of other package delivery companies. These include UPS, FedEx, and DHL. These three companies operate around the country, but there are also a number of more local companies that also offer letter and package delivery services.

Many of the services offered by the United States Postal Service can be utilized through its website. Changes of address, vacation holds, and even buying postage can all be done through the online website and no longer require visiting the local post office branch. By taking advantage of this, many people are able to avoid waiting in lines at the post office.