New Jersey is celebrating Juneteenth for the third time this year, but once again, it will differ from the federal holiday.
The holiday is named for the moment Union troops arrived in the Confederate state of Texas to announce the end of slavery. When the Union won the war, the order demanding that all slavery come to an end was not followed by the Confederate states until Union troops actually got into their territory. Texas was considered the westernmost Confederate state at the time.
The federal holiday comes on the day that happened: June 19, which is Wednesday. That means federal offices will be closed, there won’t be any mail delivery and many businesses will take the day off.
