Memorial Day lands on Monday, May 29. Born in the years after the end of the Civil War, it was once known as Decoration Day, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. It was established as a time to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers and declared for May 30 that same year.
Almost a century later, in 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act went into effect and Memorial Day has been observed on the last Monday of May ever since. Given its status as a federal holiday, government services and local municipalities will be closed that day. Here’s a list of what will be closed on Monday.
Government
City and town offices: Closed
State offices: Closed
Registry of Motor Vehicles: Closed
State and local courts: Closed
National Parks: The Springfield Armory National Historic Site is closed.
Federal courts: Closed
Finance
Banks: Closed. The Federal Reserve is closed and will not process checks, according to the Massachusetts Bankers Association.
Stock market: Both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq are closed.
Recreation
State parks: Open
Municipal parks: Check with town or city, but most places have reopened.
Beaches: Open
Trustees of Reservations properties: Open
Alcohol
Massachusetts liquor stores: Closed until noon.
Connecticut liquor stores: Open
Shopping
Auburn Mall: Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Holyoke Mall: Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Hadley Mall: Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Eastfield Mall: Open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Natick Mall: Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Big Y: Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Stop & Shop: Open, hours vary
Market Basket: Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Price Rite: Open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Star Market: Open regular hours
Walmart: Open regular hours, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Target: Open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Wegmans: Open regular hours
Safeway: Open, hours vary
Costco: Closed
CVS: Open, hours vary
Walgreens: Open; hours vary
Aldi: Open, hours vary
Whole Foods: Open, hours vary
Trader Joe’s: Open, hours vary
Parcel services
Post offices: Closed
FedEx: Closed; no regular pickup and delivery
UPS: Closed, but UPS Express Critical service is available
Transportation
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority: PVTA buses in Springfield will run on a Sunday service schedule. The following Northampton routes will operate Sunday service.
- B4
- B48
- B6
- B7
- G1
- G2
- G3
- P20
- P21
- P21E
- R10
- R14
- R29
- R44
- X90
UMass Transit has no service on Memorial Day.
Worcester Regional Transit Authority: There will be no fixed-route bus or paratransit service on Memorial Day.
MBTA:
- All subways, buses and The Ride will operate on a Sunday schedule.
- The Commuter Rail will operate on a weekend schedule.
- All ferry service schedule information can be found at mbta.com. For full details regarding MBTA service, visit mbta.com/holidays.
Peter Pan Bus Lines: Two schedules will be affected on Memorial Day:
Schedule 0302 – 6 a.m. Providence to Boston Logan
Schedule 0309 – 4:45 p.m. from Boston Logan to Providence
Travel alerts are available on the company’s website.
CapeFlyer: The MBTA will operate on Saturday and Sunday schedules on Memorial Day. Information is available at capeflyer.com.