As an aside to the 'weirdest' phone calls threads...what holidays are tourists surprised to find NOT celebrated where you are? Conversely, what holidays ARE celebrated that result in 'everything' being closed and tourists who weren't expecting that?
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Spare me the perky.
If it is a holiday weekend, Jimmy's is closed Sat/Sun/Mon. Rooms are usually hard to find here over Labor Day weekend -Italian Heritage Festival, first WVU game. and several other smaller festivals this weekend.
What surprises many tourists is that June 20 is a State Holiday. There is cake & coffee and often entertainment at all the Welcome Centers, cake served in front of every County Courthouse, and all State & County offices are closed. It is West Virginia's Birthday!
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Columbus Day is one of those holidays that is a Federal holiday but a lot of local municipalities, school districts, etc. don't celebrate it or give time off for it.
I have stayed at a B&B in Texas that attaches a higher rate and longer minimum stay to any and all "holidays". They're not necessarily celebrated there. It's like they took one of those calendars that you mentioned from a book store and used all the "holidays" printed in order to hike their rates. I found that very unusual. They also extended out their holiday weekends from Thursday thru Tuesday. So, Wednesday is the only day that's not charged the holiday rate? huh?
In the Deep South, most things will be closed on Sundays and around Christian holidays. They don't really recognize any other religion's holidays. In fact, I was lambasted by some of my neighbors for trying to be inclusive and wishing people "Happy Holidays" in December vs. Merry Christmas. Didn't make me change as I have several friends who are not Christian. 
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"You can't blame gravity for falling in love." ~ Albert Einstein
You mean no daylight savings time. Hawaii is another place that does not observe daylight savings time. Queensland in Australia does not either. Most areas that are stinkin' hot in the world don't want daylight savings time.
No one is expected to know everything.
I never knew what humidity was until I moved to the east coast. 
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Kindness not only makes the coffee. Kindness says good morning.
I guess I am not following your drift here.
I guess I am not following your drift here.
I guess it's a hard question to answer. Given we are getting calls for guests who want to book one night on a 'holiday' weekend but those same guests don't 'get' it's a holiday, I was wondering what particular holidays that everyone 'knows' about for one reason or another (like the PO or bank is closed) surprise guests when they finally find a place that celebrates them?
Conversely, you go somewhere on what is a 'big' CELEBRATED holiday in your area (a holiday everyone knows about for the same reasons as above) and the area you go to doesn't get what the fuss is about.
Like being amazed that Savannah has the second largest St Patrick's Day celebration in the US. Who knew? Well, Georgians presumably, but not New Yorkers given my parents' amazement when they couldn't find a room anywhere.
St P's day is on calendars. But how many guests would expect it to be a big celebration? How many would be disappointed to find out it's no big deal in one location or that hotels are packed to the rafters in another?
It's like finding out Arizona doesn't change their clocks. Who knew? Why would I know that? Unless I call AZ a lot or have biz contacts or relatives, it's a blip for me. So, I'd be surprised to be staying there on a 'clock-changing' weekend and nothing happened. Not that anyone 'celebrates' that, but it's on the calendar and in the paper around here and 'something' happens. (Heck, it's even in the church bulletin!)
I grew up in the midwest and was very surprised to see a Columbus Day parade on the east coast It was explained to me that the Italians were the ones doing the parading. It is pretty much a non celebrated federal vacation wekend here. On the other hand, our city had an Irish mayor decades ago and still has a St Paddy's Day parade.
New Mexico has "Holy Week" during Easter.
Oh you mean like Lee-Jackson holiday.
Robert E. Lee's birthday (January 19, 1807) has been celebrated as a Virginia holiday since 1889. In 1904, the legislature added the birthday of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824) to the holiday, and Lee-Jackson Day was born.
Oh you mean like Lee-Jackson holiday.
Robert E. Lee's birthday (January 19, 1807) has been celebrated as a Virginia holiday since 1889. In 1904, the legislature added the birthday of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824) to the holiday, and Lee-Jackson Day was born.
No, I mean holidays that show up on calendars that you can buy nationally. So, I walk into a Hallmark store in East Overshoe and pick out a calendar. It has the same holidays on it as the calendar I can buy in NYC. Then I happen to GO to NYC and find out that they have this big parade for Columbus Day and no one in East Overshoe has ever even HEARD of celebrating Columbus Day other than as a holiday for the post office and the bank.
As a tourist I am STUNNED that anyone would celebrate this holiday. Like, as a tourist I was stunned anyone would shut down for Easter WEEK. Like the people who call and don't GET that certain dates are 'real' holidays even if they don't celebrate them where they come from. NOT something like Joshua Chamberlain's birthday, which altho very well known to Civil War buffs means nothing to anyone else.
What does that mean not celebrate, ie if they celebrate it, ie Thanksgiving, then everything is closed. Bank holidays vs public holidays are two different things altogether, schools are still in for most bank holidays here, business as usual, but gvmt employees, banks and mail service are closed.
We went to NM over Easter. In Santa Fe, things (stores, museums, 'attractions') started closing on Thursday, hardly anything was open Friday, Saturady everything was open again, nothing was open on Sunday and hardly anything was open on Monday. It's not like that where I'm from. So, as a tourist, I was surprised.
The folks who don't celebrate Columbus Day are surprised we consider it a holiday. And that anything is going on relating to it as a holiday (not counting banks, gov't, etc being closed). A parade? What for?
Stuff like that.
Where LOCAL stuff is closed/open/celebrating even if NATIONAL stuff is closed. But, not talking about holidays that are just local.
So, Easter is not 'local' but it is celebrated in different ways in different states. Ditto Columbus Day.
Do you have guests who are surprised everything 'local' is closed on a holiday? In other words, they've come up against a tradition that is not traditional to them?