Tomorrow is February 12 — Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. There will be a few local celebrations in some states and a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial. I believe there is also a ceremony at Lincoln’s birthplace in Kentucky.
The third Monday in February is the date designated for the federal Washington’s Birthday holiday under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971. Technically, the federal President’s Day commemorates George Washington’s birthday. (There is no national holiday called “President’s Day.” Maybe this is a good subject for another blog…)
Most people believe that President’s Day celebrates both Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays — that’s really not true…. somewhere along the way, Lincoln got cheated out of his birthday celebration. After Lincoln’t death, there were efforts to get his birthday recognized as a holiday, but there has never been a federal Lincoln birthday holiday.
In 1940, 24 states and the District of Columbia observed Lincoln’s birthday. In 1990, Lincoln’t birthday was observed as a paid holiday in 10 states. After the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed and states moved toward celebrating the federal Washington birthday as President’s Day, there are only a few states that honor Lincoln directly (Illinois, Connecticut, Missouri and New York.) A number of states, including California and New Jersey, phased out the Lincoln holiday, mostly as cost-cutting measures.
There have been several attempts in Congress to get Lincoln his own national holiday, but none has succeeded.
It’s interesting to note that Indiana (and New Mexico) celebrate Lincoln’s birthday on the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday.) Why? President Lincoln, in 1863, issued the proclamation that officially set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving.
So even though it’s not a national holiday, or even recognized in most places, I think Lincoln deserves his own birthday celebration. Happy Birthday Abe!!
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