Juneteenth being observed across the country with first time closures

(KYMA, KECY/ CNN) - Monday marks the first time Juneteenth is being widely observed with closures of federal agencies, banks, schools and more.

This after President Biden signed legislation last year officially making Juneteenth the newest federal holiday in nearly 40 years.

While the official holiday was Sunday, the closures are happening Monday across the country.

Last year, Juneteenth had become a federal holiday just two days earlier, so the short notice meant many organizations didn't have time to prepare for it.

But with more time to prepare this year, many things are closed down, including the U.S. post offices, the New York stock exchange and NASDAQ don't have active trading hours, and most federal offices and schools are shut down.

The holiday commemorates when Union Army General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas -- to announce enslaved people had been liberated.

That was two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.