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Is it Presidents Day or Washington's Day? History of the Holiday

by Tina Kells | February 16, 2009 at 10:12 am

399 views | 18 Recommendations | 4 comments

Officially called Washington’s Day, Presidents Day is observed every year in the United States on to celebrate the births of two of the country’s most historically influential presidents: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Celebrated on the third Monday in February, Presidents Day usually falls between the birth dates of these two great American presidents. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12th and George Washington was born on February 22nd.

Confusion over the name arises as matter of circumstance. Americans have been celebrating Presidents Day since before Abraham Lincoln was even born. The original celebration was intended to fall directly on Washington’s February 22nd birthday. At one time many states celebrated the births of Washington and Lincoln separately on their exact birthdays.

Titled Washington's Birthday, the federal holiday was originally implemented by the Congress of the United States of America in 1880 for government offices in the District of Columbia (20 Stat. 277) and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices (23 Stat. 516). As the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was celebrated on Washington's actual birthday, February 22. On January 1, 1971 the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act

Due to state autonomy each state was permitted to celebrate the day however it wanted and many opted to celebrate both Washington and Lincoln on this day. In 1968 the term Presidents Day was first introduced in the United States Congress in the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

The original draft of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act would have officially changed the name of the observance to Presidents Day. It did not pass with the amended name although a modified version of the bill did clear Congress later in 1968 and set all federal holidays as Monday observances.

It was in 1968 that the term President's Day came up for legal consideration in the Congress but was shot down, though the holiday was moved to fall between the two President's birthdays. Again in the 1980's there was a resurgence of the term with advertisers which solidfied the holiday name in American culture. Today, few Americans perfer to call the holiday Washington's Birthday in lieu of President's Day.
Educate yourself and others about the presidents of the United States. At Patriotism.org, we also encourage you to show your patriotism and support our army.

The official name of the holiday remains Washington’s Day but most Americans call it Presidents Day. In many states the Presidents Day observance is not limited to just Washington and Lincoln; many states celebrate other recognized greats like Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, while some states mark the day by honouring all former presidents.

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Margaret Dodd

at 11:39 on February 16th, 2009

This is a photo of half of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Here Thomas Jefferson stands behind George Washington, as with all great men, other great men stand behind them.
To judge the size of the sculpture, notice the climber standing atop Thomas Jefferson's head, adding to the sensation of just how great these men were.

Margaret Dodd has contributed a photo to this story.

Roy C

at 18:24 on February 16th, 2009

Thanks for the info.

Paschen

at 18:39 on February 16th, 2009

Interesting and fascinating. Thank you for this Post.

caj1

at 21:51 on February 16th, 2009

Good story, Tina! I'm old enough to remember the celebration of each holiday (the birthdays of the U.S. Presidents Lincoln & Washington's separately) though since I was a kid then, the details are now sketchy. It seems that now we do celebrate one President's day but, by doing so (combining the two presidents' birthdays), it has become a very big holiday that is, one celebrated nationwide.