AUSTIN (KXAN) -- This year marks the fifth that Juneteenth is being celebrated as a federally recognized holiday, but the celebration of Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day, dates back to the 19th century.

On June 19, 1865, Union Major-General Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3 to the people of Galveston, stating that all slaves had been freed, according to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Abraham Lincoln signed the proclamation freeing those who were enslaved on Jan. 1, 1863.

Celebrations commemorating the day began the following year in Texas and spread to other areas of the South, according to the commission. Juneteenth National Independence Day was first recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.

There are several celebrations planned to commemorate the holiday in Aus

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