Today is Presidents\u2019 Day. It\u2019s a federal holiday thanks to the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill passed by Congress in 1968. Actually, I\u2019ve always been a little confused as to exactly what the day commemorates. When I was growing up, the February \u201cholidays\u201d I remember were Valentine\u2019s Day, Washington\u2019s birthday and Lincoln\u2019s birthday. I know Valentine\u2019s Day wasn\u2019t a holiday and we had to go to school, but it was a fun day at school because we always had a Valentine party. Washington\u2019s and Lincoln\u2019s birthdays were days off from school. I don\u2019t remember any big celebrations, but we didn\u2019t have to go to school on their birthdays.<\/p>\n
But in 1968 the bill passed by Congress, intended to create more three-day weekends for federal employees, moved the observance of three existing federal holidays (Washington\u2019s Birthday, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day) from fixed calendar dates to designated Mondays. It also added a new federal holiday, Columbus Day, that would also be observed on a Monday. (Legislation passed several years later restored the observance of Veterans Day to November 11.) The legislation changed the observance of Washington\u2019s Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday in February. It\u2019s interesting that Washington\u2019s Birthday can never be celebrated on his \u201cactual\u201d birthday, because the third Monday in February cannot fall any later than February 21.<\/p>\n
All this fooling with the date didn\u2019t change the fact that the third Monday in February was still \u201cWashington\u2019s Birthday.\u201d Originally the Uniform Holidays Bill proposed moving the observance of Washington\u2019s Birthday and<\/em> renaming the holiday \u201cPresident\u2019s Day\u201d \u2014 supposedly to honor both Washington and Lincoln, since both their birthdays were in February. However, the name change got dropped out of the bill and the official<\/em> designation of the federal holiday observed on the third Monday of February is, and always has been, Washington\u2019s Birthday. To add more confusion, some people believe the day is understood to be a celebration of the birthdays and lives of all U.S. Presidents.<\/p>\n So no matter who or what you\u2019re celebrating today \u2014 happy President\u2019s Day. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today is Presidents\u2019 Day. It\u2019s a federal holiday thanks to the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill passed by Congress in 1968. Actually, I\u2019ve always been a little confused as to exactly what the day commemorates. When I was growing up, the … Continue reading
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n