So January 9th last year turned out to be one of those rare days when the stock market closed and nobody was trading. Honestly didn't think much about it at the time, but apparently the stock market closed that day because of former President Jimmy Carter's passing and his state funeral. The guy made it to 100, which is pretty remarkable.

Both NYSE and Nasdaq shut down for the National Day of Mourning. I remember some traders being annoyed about the market closure since you don't get many of those anymore. It's actually a tradition going back decades - whenever a former president passes, Wall Street basically pauses to pay respects. Happened in 2018 when George H.W. Bush died, same thing in 2004 for Ronald Reagan. So yeah, the stock market closed on that specific day as a sign of respect.

If you're wondering whether the stock market closed today or checking your calendar for future closures, just remember these aren't random. Most of the time markets are open, but when something like this happens, there's usually advance notice. For anyone trading back then, it meant no market action that day - kind of a forced break in the usual chaos. Definitely threw off some people's schedules, but it was the right call. Carter's legacy warranted that pause in the markets.