On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that federal agencies will be closed on Christmas Eve giving workers an extra day off before Christmas.

The announcement was made by the White House via an executive order signed by the President on Thursday.

“All executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, the day before Christmas Day,” the executive order says.

Although the day has been designated as a holiday, some federal employees will still show up for work. According to the order parts of the government that must remain open for reasons of “national security, defense, or other public need,” will remain open.

Each president does it differently

Although Christmas Day is a federal holiday, the day before is not a holiday for workers. Therefore the decision to designate Christmas Eve as a holiday rests solely on the president, with each handling it differently.

During his first term in office, President-elect Donald Trump gave federal employees an extra day off in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Former President Barack Obama gave federal employees an extra day off but instead of Christmas Eve, December 26, 2014 was deemed a holiday. Former President George W. Bush also marked Dec. 24 as a holiday on more than one occasion.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.