The short answer is yes. The lead case is Cammack v. Waihee, a Ninth Circuit decision from 1991.
In 1941, the Territory of Hawaii
enacted a bill declaring that Good Friday, the Friday preceding Easter Sunday,
shall be “set apart and established as a territorial holiday.” The law was
continued after Hawaii became a state.
The law appropriates no funds to
carry out its purposes. The effect of the law is to close state and local
government offices and schools. At the time, twelve other states had this law.
For some people, this creates an inconvenience. For others,
it seems like official endorsement of the Christian faith.
The appeals court ruled that this
state law is not a violation of the First Amendment prohibition against establishing
a religion. The bottom line is this: “The (First Amendment) establishment clause,
however, permits government some latitude in recognizing and accommodating the
central role religion plays in our society.”
The case was decided by a 2-1 vote. Judge Dorothy W. Nelson disagreed. She reasoned: “In this case, the legislature
sends the message to non-Christians that it finds Good Friday, and thus
Christianity, to be a religion worth honoring, while their religion or non-religion
is not of equal importance. In fact, the government promotes Western Christians
above Eastern Christians, whose Easter and Good Friday almost always fall on
different dates.”
However you view this
outcome, have a Good Friday or a good Friday!
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