...George shows off his new gold desk and chair from Jonathan AdlerWe hope that you are having a great long weekend. In honor of Presidents Day we are all taking a break. This is a great extra day to have at this time of year. During these cold, dark months, a little bit more home time (or travel time) can give you a great boost. Enjoy.
The Facts: "Presidents Day is the common name for the United States federal holiday officially designated as Washington's Birthday. It is celebrated on the third Monday of February...
As the official title of the federal holiday, Washington's Birthday was originally implemented by the federal government in 1880 in the District of Columbia and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices. As the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was celebrated on Washington's actual birthday, February 22. In 1971 the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February.
In the late 1980s, with a push from advertisers (see detail below), the term Presidents Day began its public appearance. The theme has expanded the focus of the holiday to honor another February President, Abraham Lincoln, and often other Presidents of the United States. Although Lincoln's birthday, February 12, was never a federal holiday, approximately a dozen state governments have officially renamed their Washington's Birthday observances as "Presidents Day", "Washington and Lincoln Day", or other such designations. It is also interesting to note that "Presidents Day" is not always an all-inclusive term. In Massachusetts, while their state holiday honors "Washington's Birthday", there is also a Presidents Day Proclamation honoring the Presidents that have come from the New England area. Alabama uniquely observes the day as "Washington and Jefferson Day," even though Jefferson's birthday was in April.[1] In Connecticut, while Presidents Day is a federal holiday, Abraham Lincoln's birthday is still a state holiday, falling on February 12 regardless of the day of the week.
In Washington's home state of Virginia the holiday is legally known as "George Washington Day.""
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Yes, having this day off must be nice! Those of us required to work today just get to enjoy lighter traffic and emptier transit!
view Christine (the one in DC)'s profile
Wikipedia is not quite correct. The US used to have 2 presidential birthdays as holidays, Lincoln on Feb 12 and Washington on Feb 22. When I was in grade school we had both Feb 12 and 22 off from school. By the time I was in high school we only had President's Day off from school. When they decided to go with 'monday' holidays, they chose the 3rd monday of February to celebrate and honor BOTH presidents, not just Washington; the reasoning being that the 3rd monday usually falls between the two birthdays and only occasionally falls on Washington's actual birthdate. It is Presidents (plural) Day, not President's (possessive) Day.
view swoozie's profile
Actually, the third Monday in February can never fall on Washington's actual birth date.
It is still Washington's Birthday on the federal holiday calendar, though. Some states also give Lincoln's birthday to state employees, though that's much less common than it used to be. The switch to only giving W's Bday as a holiday comes years (~20) after the switch to Monday holidays and was a response to MLK Day adding "too many" holidays to the calendar.
view wende in the twin cities's profile