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Presidents Day or Washington's Birthday
Presidents' Day, officially known as Washington's Birthday, is a national
holiday in the United States of America celebrated on the third Monday of
February. It is a combination of two previous holidays, Lincoln's Birthday
(February 12) and Washington's Birthday (February 22).
Presidents carved into Mt Rushmore
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In American schools the days leading up to Presidents' Day are often used
to educate students on the history of the Presidents of the United States,
especially former Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
In recent years Presidents' Day has become well-known for being a day in
which many stores hold sales.
Observance on the third Monday of February dates to the Monday Holidays Act
of 1968, which became effective in 1971. A draft of that bill called for a
Presidents' Day to honor both Washington and Lincoln, but the final version
only moved Washington's Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday without
changing its name. In 1971, President Richard Nixon issued a proclamation
calling for a Presidents' Day on the third Monday to honor all US presidents,
but that did not have the force of law. As of 2003, the federal government
still refers to the holiday as Washington's Birthday, while many state and
local governments and private employers refer to it as Presidents' Day.
Adding to the confusion is that George Washington's birthday was nominally on
February 11, but in the Julian calendar that predated England's calendar
reformation in September 1752. His birthday is equivalent to February 22 in
the Gregorian calendar used today. The third Monday in a month never falls
later than the 21st, so the official holiday now never occurs on his actual
birthday.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from
Wikipedia
and from ShiningRise.com
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