February 17, 2020: President’s Day began informally on February 22, 1800, to celebrate the birthday of George Washington. The nation’s first president had passed away the year before. It took another 85 years before Washington’s birthday became an official national holiday.[1]
Over time, many states began to also celebrate both formally and informally the birthday of Abraham Lincoln (February 12).
However, in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. That plan was designed to give workers more three-day weekends by celebrating holidays on Mondays. Technically, the law listed only Washington’s birthday as a holiday. However, since the third Monday of February always falls between the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln, many saw it as a joint celebration.
Building on this cultural attitude, marketers began promoting Presidents’ Day (plural). By the 1980s, many states had changed the name to Presidents’ Day on their calendar. History.com reports that “Presidents' Day is now popularly seen as a day to recognize the lives and achievements of all of America’s chief executives.”[1]
In addition to Washington and Lincoln, presidents William Henry Harrison and Ronald Reagan have their birthdays in February. However, no presidents have their birthday on Presidents’ Day.
Finally, despite the cultural shift in understanding the holiday, the federal government still officially considers it to be a holiday honoring George Washington’s birthday.
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