Just about everything was closed Wednesday, Dec. 25, in recognition of Christmas, but most businesses reopened on Thursday, Dec. 26.

However, both the City of Greensboro and the State of North Carolina offices remained closed on Dec. 26.

Greensboro and North Carolina employees received a three-day break at Christmas with offices closed Tuesday, Dec. 24 through Thursday, Dec. 26.

Federal employees had Christmas Day off but were expected to work on Christmas Eve and Dec. 26, also called Boxing Day, which is a traditional holiday in Great Britain and countries that were once part of the British Empire, but not in the United States.

When salaries between government and private sector employees are being compared, rarely are the number of paid holidays taken into consideration, but there is a big difference.

Employees of the City of Greensboro and the State of North Carolina receive 12 paid holidays a year, including three for Christmas and two for Thanksgiving. Federal employees receive eight paid holidays a year with only Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day as recognized holidays.

In the private sector, the average number of paid holidays is 7.6. Greensboro city employees and North Carolina state employees receive 4.4 more paid holidays than the average worker in the private sector and four more than federal employees.

There are also some differences in the holidays recognized. The federal government doesn’t recognize any holiday for Easter while both Greensboro and North Carolina recognize Good Friday as a holiday.

The federal government recognizes both Washington’s birthday and Columbus Day as paid holidays while Greensboro and North Carolina don’t recognize either.

But even the most liberal holiday schedule in the US doesn’t come close to Iran, where in addition to one-month vacation, there are 27 paid public holidays.