Quick answer
When is Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2002?
Monday, January 21, 2002
Relative to today: 8887 days ago.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2002 is Monday, January 21, 2002. It is a U.S. federal public holiday; banks, USPS, schools, and employers may publish their own closure details.
U.S. federal public holiday. See all U.S. public holidays for a full 2002 list.
Monday, January 21, 2002
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed on the third Monday of January, so the calendar date changes every year while the weekday stays Monday.
U.S. federal public holiday
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal public holiday in the United States.
What Martin Luther King Jr. Day means in the United States
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a U.S. federal public holiday, established to honor the civil rights leader. On the federal holiday calendar, it is observed on the third Monday in January, which means the exact January date on the wall calendar changes every year while the weekday stays a Monday. When people ask for “MLK Day 2026” or “MLK Day 2027,” they are usually looking for that Monday, not a fixed month-day like July 4.
The federal layer matters for whether many government services treat the day as a full closure. For many employees, a Monday federal holiday is experienced as a three-day weekend, because Saturday and Sunday are already off for standard Monday–Friday schedules. But “federal holiday” is not a private-sector guarantee: hospitals, retail, food service, and many contractors may use a different schedule, and states can add or adjust their own public-sector calendars.
School districts often close for the day, but that is a local board decision, not a single national switch. If you are coordinating child care, check the district’s official academic calendar, not just a generic “U.S. holidays” list. Colleges and universities can also differ from K–12, especially when classes are online or on trimesters.
Commemoration can take many forms: community service (often called a “day of service”), remembrances, and public events. Some employers encourage volunteer time. None of that changes the hard date; it only changes what you might do on the day. If you schedule travel, note that the Monday effect also shifts when hotel and flight demand spikes compared with a regular January Monday.
For financial and operational planning, a Monday January holiday can also matter for payroll processing weeks, month-end close in some businesses, and bond-market holidays when U.S. markets line up with the federal bank-holiday schedule. If you are outside the U.S. but working with U.S. partners, this is one of the early-year dates that often appears on a shared “U.S. out of office” calendar.
At a glance
- Always a Monday (third Monday of January) in the U.S. pattern we use
- Federal public holiday: typical federal office closure; USPS no regular delivery
- Banks: most retail branches closed; check your bank’s published list
- Schools: often closed, but confirm your local district’s PDF calendar
- Not a “floating substitute” for every private employer by law
- Use the exact month-day on this page for travel and event tickets
Practical planning
- Confirm your employer’s paid-holiday list (federal name vs. your contract).
- If you need a package delivered, check USPS, FedEx, and UPS published holiday service maps for that Monday.
- For school, screenshot the official district calendar, not a third-party summary.
- If you book a short trip, price Saturday-night stays; long weekends can lift rates near major cities.
How 2002 compares to 2001
In 2001, the date was Monday, January 15, 2001. In 2002, the date is Monday, January 21, 2002. The calendar “month-day” can move from year to year, but the underlying rule stays consistent. The wall-calendar gap is 371 day(s) later year over year, which is normal when a recurring holiday pattern shifts against the calendar. Use that when you compare PTO, retail promotions, or school notices that are tied to a specific day of the month, not only the holiday name.
Last year: Monday, January 15, 2001 · This page: Monday, January 21, 2002
Other U.S. observances in January 2002
Same month, different rules—useful when you are planning January travel or event spacing.
- New Year's Day — Tuesday, January 1, 2002
Weekends, time off, and scheduling
This date is always a Monday. For federal public holidays, that typically creates a long weekend (Saturday through Monday) for people who have weekends off, though retail and service industries often stay open on different schedules.
When Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls (multi-year)
Exact calendar dates and weekdays—useful for martin luther king jr. day 2024–2009 search intent.
| Year | Date | Weekday |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Jan 17 | Monday |
| 2001 | Jan 15 | Monday |
| 2002 this page | Jan 21 | Monday |
| 2003 | Jan 20 | Monday |
| 2004 | Jan 19 | Monday |
| 2005 | Jan 17 | Monday |
| 2006 | Jan 16 | Monday |
| 2007 | Jan 15 | Monday |
| 2008 | Jan 21 | Monday |
| 2009 | Jan 19 | Monday |
Questions about Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2002
When is Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2002, exactly?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2002 is Monday, January 21, 2002 (use your local time zone for same-day events). The date on the calendar is fixed by the U.S. rule in our guide, not a guess. If you need a single ISO-style line for travel systems, the date is 2002-01-21.
Why does Martin Luther King Jr. Day land on that Monday in 2002?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed on the third Monday of January, so the calendar date changes every year while the weekday stays Monday. For many people, the more important part is the weekday: when the rule pins the day to a Monday, Thursday, Sunday, or an Easter-related offset, you can plan closures and family plans even before you look up the exact month-day.
How does the 2002 date compare to 2001?
In 2001, the date was Monday, January 15, 2001. In 2002, the date is Monday, January 21, 2002. The calendar “month-day” can move from year to year, but the underlying rule stays consistent. The wall-calendar gap is 371 day(s) later year over year, which is normal when a recurring holiday pattern shifts against the calendar. Use that when you compare PTO, retail promotions, or school notices that are tied to a specific day of the month, not only the holiday name.
Is Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2002 a U.S. federal public holiday, and do banks and post offices close?
For the federal holiday calendar, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is treated as a public holiday, which typically means U.S. federal non-essential offices are closed, and the U.S. Postal Service does not deliver regular mail. Most consumer banks also close their branches, though online banking and ATMs may still work. However, your employer, your child’s school district, and your state’s court system can still differ—use Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal public holiday in the United States. as the baseline, then confirm on your own institution’s published calendar.
What about Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2003—and how should I use the multi-year table?
In 2003, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, January 20, 2003. The table on this page is meant for multi-year search intent: you can line up several years at once to see when the same observance will fall near a trip, a budget cycle, or a school year boundary. For subscription calendars, also open the year view in AnyCalendar to catch adjacent holidays.
Where can I see this day on a full U.S. holiday list and in my own calendar?
The United States public-holiday list for 2002 (with long-weekend notes) is on anycalendar.org/holidays/us. You can also open the january 2002 month view, the full 2002 year view, and use the subscribe and print tools on AnyCalendar to move these dates into Google, Apple, Outlook, or a PDF you can print.