Originally celebrated by newly freed Black communities in Texas with religious services, barbecues and symbolic traditions like discarding clothing worn during enslavement, the holiday has since grown beyond Texas and the South.

Yes, Juneteenth is a state holiday in Missouri and is observed every 19th day of June. As such, all state offices are closed on that day, unless it falls on the weekend, in which case offices will be closed either the preceding Friday or following Monday.

Juneteenth, which is short for “June Nineteenth”, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday, which is also known as “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day,” honors the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston,