This Thursday marks 160 years since the origin of Juneteenth. Here's what to know about the holiday and why' it's celebrated.

Originally celebrated by newly freed Black communities in Texas with religious services, barbecues and symbolic traditions like discarding clothing worn during enslavement, the holiday has since grown beyond Texas and the South.

The holiday has been commemorated as America's Second Independence Day, and several companies may be updating their hours of operation in honor of the federal holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.