Presidents' Day, Washington's Birthday, Lincoln's Birthday...
What are we actually commemorating on the third Monday in February?
The short answer:
According to History.com: "Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual day of birth—the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers."
Other fun facts:
Four presidents actually have February birthdays: Washington, Lincoln, William Henry Harrison and Ronald Reagan.
While Washington’s Birthday was an unofficial observance for most of the 1800s, it was not until the late 1870s that it became a federal holiday. The holiday initially only applied to the District of Columbia, but in 1885 it was expanded to the whole country.
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.
Click here to learn more about Presidents' Day.
Click here to see one version of the nation's presidents commemorated in quilting.
Are you familiar with the Washington's Puzzle quilt block? Click here to see directions for making it.
p.s. Don't forget...the post office and banks are closed for Presidents' Day!
We were explaining the evolution of "president's day" to our grandson at lunch today. I think it doesn't mean as much as a general "presidents' day" as it did when it was Washington's Birthday way back when. It's the generalizing of holidays and moving them away from the actual holiday to be a non-holiday on Mondays.
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