Saturday, February 15, 2020

History of President's Day Holiday

Presidents’ Day is an American holiday originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington and is currently celebrated on the third Monday in February, in 2020 that's February 17th. The federal government still officially calls it “Washington’s Birthday.” When first established, it was celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual date of birth.

The story of Presidents’ Day begins in 1800. Following President George Washington’s death in 1799, his February 22 birthday became a perennial day of remembrance. At the time, Washington was venerated as the most important figure in American history, and events like the 1832 centennial of his birth and the start of construction of the Washington Monument in 1848 were cause for national celebration.

While Washington’s Birthday was an unofficial observance for most of the 1800s, it was not until late 1879 that it became a federal holiday when President Rutherford B. Hayes signed it into law. The holiday initially only applied to the District of Columbia, but in 1885 it was expanded to the whole country.
The shift from Washington’s Birthday to Presidents’ Day began in the late 1960s when Congress proposed a measure known as the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This law shifted the celebration of several federal holidays from specific dates to a series of predetermined Mondays creating three-day holiday weekends. While some argued that shifting holidays from their original dates would cheapen their meaning, the bill had widespread support. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act also included a provision to combine the celebration of Washington’s Birthday with Abraham Lincoln’s, which fell on the proximate date of February 12 thus giving equal recognition to two of America’s most famous presidents.

The main piece of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed in 1968 and officially took effect in 1971 following an executive order from President Richard Nixon. Washington’s Birthday was then shifted from the fixed date of February 22 to the third Monday of February.

Washington and Lincoln still remain the two most recognized leaders, but Presidents’ Day is now popularly seen as a day to recognize the lives and achievements of all of America’s chief executives. For its part, the federal government has held fast to the original incarnation of the holiday as a celebration of the country’s first president. The third Monday in February is still listed on official calendars as Washington’s Birthday. [I just took a look at my office calendar and it shows February 17, 2020, the third Monday in February, as President's Day rather than Washington's birthday.]

8 comments:

Melody DeBlois said...

My husband and I were just talking about President's Day last night. I remember my grandmother's birthday and Abraham Lincoln's were on the same day, February 12th. I didn't know the reason for all the changes in the holiday. Thank you for posting this.

Ilona Fridl said...

Interesting post! I remember a blow back when the government tried to put Independence Day as the first Monday in July. Because it was also known as the Fourth of July, most people didn't want it moved.

GiniRifkin said...

Thank you for the interesting and timely post.

Anna Taylor Sweringen said...

Thanks for sharing this history. I remember getting both Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays as a kid and felt cheated when they were put together to form Presidents' Day.

Shawna Delacorte said...

Melody: Glad you found it informative.

Thanks for your comment.

Shawna Delacorte said...

Ilona: Absolutely...Independence Day is July 4th and that's it. Same as Christmas is December 25, not the last Monday in December. Same with New Year's Day, it's on January 1 no matter what day of the week that is.

Thanks for your comment.

Shawna Delacorte said...

Gini: Glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks for your comment.

Shawna Delacorte said...

Anna: True, with the realignment of holidays into the Monday schedule, we were denied that extra February holiday.

Thanks for your comment.