WHAT IS PRESIDENTS’ DAY? HONORING OUR NATION’S LEADERS


By kbarber
What Is Presidents’ Day? Honoring Our Nation’s Leaders

Introduction

Happy Presidents’ Day! Is that even a thing people say? Wait... What is Presidents’ Day exactly? Well, if you’re asking, it’s a good thing you’ve landed here! Presidents’ Day is a sometimes-misunderstood holiday that doesn’t always get the love it deserves. It’s not a day for us to kiss the a** of our current commander-in-chief (far from it, thank goodness). So if we’re not doing any boot-licking on this day, then what is Presidents’ Day, really?

Why Do We Celebrate Presidents’ Day?

In short, we celebrate Presidents’ Day to honor the legacies, achievements, and lives of the nation’s leaders, starting with two of the most iconic: Washington and Lincoln. While you may choose to rightfully exclude one (or several) presidents from your own celebrations, the day is set aside to laud any of the country’s leaders from Washington to the present day… with some exclusions, if need be.

When Is Presidents’ Day Celebrated?

Presidents’ Day is always sandwiched in between the birthdays of George Washington (Feb. 22) and Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) on the third Monday of February every year. However, this wasn’t always the case, as the holiday has had several major transformations throughout its lifetime. Read more about that below.

Is Presidents’ Day a Government Holiday?

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Presidents’ Day History

Presidents’ Day wasn’t always Presidents’ Day. In fact, the holiday took many twists and turns on its way to the holiday we know and (maybe) love today. So many, in fact, that it might make your little one car sick with all the bumps it took along the way! When asking, “What is Presidents’ Day?” it’s important to also ask, “What WAS Presidents’ Day” to get the full scope of the holiday’s history.

Washington’s Death

George Washington died in December of 1799 following a violent bacterial infection of the throat and his rather dubious choice to be bloodlet. Though it wasn’t a glorious death in battle, he was instantly celebrated and memorialized as one of the first true American heroes. From city to city, church bells rang out in mourning for Washington’s passing. Businesses closed out of respect for the hero’s death. Memorial processions were even held in most major cities of the time. Can you see where this is going? Though unofficial, these events paved the way for the federal celebration of Washington’s Birthday and modern day Presidents’ Day.

Washington Monument

In 1832, the Washington National Monument Society was formed with the goal of honoring the late president. In 1848, nearly 120 years after Washington’s birth, workers in Washington, D.C., began construction on the iconic Washington Monument. Due to the turmoil that you can probably guess about, the monument would not be completed until 1884. Thanks, Civil War! The Washington Monument sat as a reminder of Washington’s strength and dedication to his nation. As such, unofficial celebrations continued to occur in greater numbers all throughout the 1800s in honor of our first president.

The First “Presidents’ Day”

The first Presidents’ Day wasn’t “Presidents’ Day.” It was, instead, Washington’s Birthday. Arkansas Senator Stephen Wallace Dorsey proposed that there be an official holiday to celebrate Washington in the late 1870s. Then-president Rutherford B. Hayes agreed with the man and signed it into law in 1880. This law gave federal workers in the District of Columbia a day off, and it was the first federal holiday EVER to honor an individual’s birthday. In 1885, the day was expanded to include the entire country. At this time, the day was known as “Washington’s Birthday,” not “Presidents’ Day,” as the day was still only intended to recognize Washington and his sole achievements and contributions to the nation.

Uniform Monday Holiday Law

If you know anything about holidays like this, it’s that the Uniform Monday Holiday Law has its grubby little statutes all over them! We’re only kidding, of course, because we will take all the days off work we can get. The Uniform Monday Holiday Law, which also goes by several name variations, made three-day weekends of several holidays by moving the observed date to a Monday each year. These include Washington’s Birthday, Labor Day, and Memorial Day. This act also included an important provision. It sought to combine Washington’s and Lincoln’s celebrations into this one day, as Lincoln’s Birthday had previously only been a state holiday in specific places. We guess Lincoln wasn’t as important as Washington??? Since this new holiday placed the observed date between Washington’s Birthday and Lincoln’s Birthday, this is when the collective consciousness began the shift to using “Presidents’ Day” instead of just “Washington’s Birthday.”

Presidents’ Day or Washington’s Birthday - Which Is it?

Did you notice how none of our history facts above mentioned a name change from Washington’s Birthday to Presidents’ Day? Well, you probably didn’t if you're just skipping around. Are you really too lazy to read a few paragraphs?! Anyway, you might be surprised to know that the day is still technically Washington’s Birthday. There has never been an official piece of legislation changing the name of the day to “Presidents’ Day.” Seeing as the day comes smack-dab in between Washington’s Birthday and Lincoln’s Birthday, however, many people use the day to honor both, and all, presidents. If you have a lick of logic in that brain of yours, you’ll know that it makes much more sense to call it “Presidents’ Day” instead of just “Washington’s Birthday,” which excludes Lincoln and other presidents from being honored. When the Uniform Monday Holiday Law was being floated around, there was a measure proposed to officially rename the day. However, lawmakers in Virginia, George Washington's home state, staunchly opposed the idea

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Quick Presidents’ Day Facts

  • Remarking on the half-finished Washington monument, famed author Mark Twain commented that the unfinished construction looked like a “hollow, oversized chimney” in 1861.
  • George Washington was born in 1732.
  • Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809.
  • “Presidents’ Day” doesn’t technically exist, as the name was never officially changed from Washington’s Birthday.
  • Presidents’ Day sales have been happening since the 1980s.
  • Each year since 1888, George Washington’s farewell address has been read aloud in the Senate on his birthday.
  • Presidents’ Day is spelled with an S then an apostrophe (rather than an apostrophe then an S) to denote that we, as Americans, use the day to celebrate all presidents, not just one.
  • Lincoln and Washington aren’t the only presidents with February birthdays. Ronald Reagan and Willian Harrison were also born in the same month.

Conclusion

What is Presidents’ Day? We hope you have a better understanding of why this day exists and what it means. If you’re still a little confused, don’t worry. Everyone else is, too, including the Senate. Just take this day to reflect on the leaders that got this country to where it is today. Whether you call it Presidents’ Day, Washington’s Birthday, or some other made-up moniker, make sure to give a shout out to the nation’s leaders today. (No, you don’t have to include the most recent ones.) Happy Presidents’ Day!


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