History of the Holidays: Presidents Day

A Federal Holiday takes place in the USA on the third Monday in February.

It's called Washington's Birthday by some, and Presidents' Day by others.

Each state is free to name this holiday as they wish and decide if it is a state holiday or not.

This has resulted in 14 different names for this holiday!

Only 58% of companies give it as a holiday, making it the second least observed holiday after Columbus Day.

Most government offices and public schools will be closed and there will be no mail deliveries on this day.

​The first holiday marked George Washington's birthday in 1796 (the last full year of his presidency).

Washington, according to the calendar in use since the mid-18th century, was born on February 22, 1732.

In 1732, according to the old style calendar in use back then, he was born on February 11.

In 1796, many Americans celebrated his birthday on the 22nd while others marked the occasion on the 11th instead.

By the early 19th century, Washington's Birthday had taken firm root as a bona fide national holiday.

Its traditions included Birthnight Balls, speeches by prominent public figures...

..parades, and a lot of revelry in taverns throughout the land.

Then along came Abraham Lincoln, another revered president and fellow February baby (born on the 12th of the month).

The first formal observance of his birthday took place in 1865, the year after his assassination.

While Lincoln's Birthday did not become a federal holiday like George Washington's, it did become a legal holiday in several states.

In 1968, Washington's Birthday was shifted to the third Monday in February each year.

This meant that the holiday for Washington's Birthday could never fall on the date of his birthday.

In 1971, President Nixon issued a proclamation calling the holiday “Presidents Day”, stating its intent to honor all past and present (!) presidents

However the official proposal to rename the holiday never happened, so the holiday officially remains “Washington’s Birthday.”

In the 1980s, advertising campaigns for holiday sales began calling the day, Presidents Day.

The term stuck and by the early 2000s Presidents' Day was adopted as the official name of the holiday in almost half the 50 states.

Music: Blakey's Burnout