Does your calendar say “President’s Day” on February 16? I was just reading a children’s book that states that Presidents’ Day is for commemorating the birthdays of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. However, this is simply not true. There is no official federal holiday called “President’s Day.” The 3rd Monday in February is designated by federal law as a holiday called “Washington’s Birthday.” However, it is not Washington’s birthday either. In fact, Washington’s birthday, which is February 22, will never fall on the 3rd Monday in February! Nor is it Lincoln’s birthday, which is February 12. There are some states that do call the day “Presidents’ Day,” but this is not the national designation.
So what are we celebrating? We are actually supposed to be celebrating George Washington’s birthday. That day, February 22, was celebrated by Americans before it was officially a national holiday because of the great respect and admiration that people had for our first president. It was first observed as an official federal holiday for government offices in the District of Columbia in 1880, and extended to all federal offices in 1885. Eventually, though, Congress wanted to move federal holidays to Mondays in order to have more “3-day weekends” and Washington’s birthday got moved. (Only our Congress would take it upon themselves to change someone’s birthday.) There is a long and confusing history about the celebration of Washington’s birthday and some of the other national holidays. Did you know that someone proposed moving Independence Day to a Monday instead of having it on July 4? If you are interested in reading the whole story, C.L. Arbelbide has an article that tells about it on the National Archives website.
This holiday, whatever you want to call it, has gone the way of other holidays; a time for sales and merchandising. Even when the observance of Washington’s birthday was moved to a Monday, it was supposed to be so that it was easier for companies to give their employees the day off and for families to have three days in a row for a mini-vacation. But instead, businesses remain open and have special sales to attract more shoppers. So instead of families spending time together and learning about President Washington, they can get some great deals at the mall. Maybe in the midst of all the confusion and shopping, we can get in a little reading and learn about the impact that President Washington had on our country and on our lives as they are today.
Cynthia