While celebrating holidays how often do we consider why the holiday was started? A lot of times we just think of it as a day off and just enjoy it.
If you’ve ever wondered how Presidents’ Day began, read on as this article tells the short history of the third Monday in February.
Presidents’ Day Beginnings
At first, Presidents’ Day was on February 22nd, celebrating Washington’s birthday. This day was made an official federal holiday in 1879 by President Rutherford B. Hayes. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act that was passed by Congress in 1971 made it so that Washington’s birthday, Columbus Day, and Memorial Day were all pushed to certain Mondays to make for a long weekend. This created more three-day weekends and it became easier for people to know the day the holiday would fall on. Washington’s Birthday, which was celebrated on the third Monday in February, became known as Presidents’ Day because of advertisers creating sales promotions. President’s Day sounded better than Washington’s Birthday and the name stuck.
Celebrating Presidents’ Day
This holiday could be celebrating all American presidents, but it is specifically celebrating George Washington’s (Feb 22) and Abraham Lincoln’s (Feb 12) birthdays. Unlike other holidays, there aren’t many official celebrations of Presidents’ Day. There isn’t a fireworks display, or a massive cookout, or the imposition to buy presents for a significant other. Many folks relax and take time to destress while honoring two of our nation’s leaders. Surely Washington and Lincoln would approve of that.
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