Why is Christmas a statutory holiday, but others religious celebrations like Ramadan or Yom Kippur are not? Do you think this should change?

Question

Why is Christmas a statutory holiday, but others religious celebrations like Ramadan or Yom Kippur are not? Do you think this should change?

Answer 1

The USA was founded by Christians. The signers of the Constitution were Christians as have been every President. USA Is generally known as a Christian country. Per the Pew Research Center, "65% of Americans in 2018/2019 identify as Christian the was a decline of 12 % in 2009"(https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/). "While 22% of the population claims to be unaffiliated. This has been a dramatic increase from 1970 when less than 7% stated no affiliation" ( https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/pf_10-17-19_rdd_update-00-011/). So, all this means is that there is not likely any support within the population for a new statue(s) per the data. And, a Constitutional fight would be unlikely.

Amendment I of the Constitution clearly states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof....."

Many state/city/federal agencies allow people of other religions to take time off to practice their beliefs.

For example "It is an optional holiday for state government employees in Texas. A chief judge of any judicial circuit in Florida can designate Yom Kippur as a legal holiday for court employees within the state’s judicial circuit. Some states, such as North Carolina, try to accommodate a government employee's request to be away from work for certain religious holiday observances, such as Yom Kippur" (https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/yom-kippur).

The other alternative is for the the US Congress to pass a bill authorizing such holidays. Such a debate took place in 1950 (see Congressional record) and "It wasn’t until 1958 that members began traveling home on the weekends and a yearlong session evolved. Since then, the party leaders have regularly scheduled days off for Christian and Jewish holidays, although there is no official law that requires them" (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2008/09/does-congress-always-take-off-for-the-jewish-holidays.html). There have been some creative solutions that allow people to observe their religious beliefs but a law/statue is unlikely.

Answer 2

That is a political decision, the US Government in the USA decides which holidays are federal holidays by statute/law/regulation. The US Congress and the President has to change the law.