Holidays With Hagel Exhibit Opens

1st Floor – Holidays with Hagel is the latest exhibit from the U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives in Archives & Special Collections. Take a lighthearted tour of the eleven federal holidays observed in the United States, the two state holidays observed in Nebraska, and cultural and social holidays, when we may not get the day off but have a reason to celebrate, commemorate, or even have a chuckle.

Congress created the first four federal holidays in 1870: New Years Day, Independence Day (July 4th), Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. The newest holiday is Juneteenth, created as a federal holiday when President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act in 2021. Juneteenth has long been celebrated across the U.S. every June 19^th to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday was born June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally became free when Union troops arrived to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation.

Arbor Day, the first of Nebraska’s state holidays, is a Nebraska original proposed by a Nebraska City resident in 1872 who wanted the state to have a day devoted to tree planting. From there, it grew quickly and spread to all fifty states and nations around the world. Nebraska’s second state holiday, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, is much newer and was created by the Nebraska Legislature in 2020. It is observed in Nebraska on the same day as Columbus Day, the most inconsistently celebrated of all the federal holidays.

This exhibit was created using artifacts, photographs, and documents from the U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives. Chuck Hagel served as U.S. Senator from 1997 to 2009 and as U.S. Secretary of Defense from 2013 to 2015. The exhibit was curated by Lori Schwartz, Hagel and Technical Services Archivist / Assistant Professor with installation assistance by James Graham, spring intern in Archives and Special Collections.

Available for Research

Hagel’s records are used for research, instruction, and exhibits. They cover legislative issues and topics of national and international prominence that arose from 1997 to 2009, including the Bill Clinton impeachment in 1998-1999, a contested presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economic downtown of 2007-2009, and disaster and drought assistance for rural areas.

Visitors may use the Hagel Archives in Archives and Special Collections, Monday-Friday 9am – 5pm, and view selected material online. We recommend researchers contact archivists in advance for help in selecting material. Information is available at U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives.