This year for the first time in a long time, LPS students and staff will have a day off to celebrate Presidents’ Day. Every year, on the third Monday of February, the nation celebrates this federal holiday where it is said to be dedicated to honoring and remembering all presidents that have served in office. But the original holiday wasn’t dedicated to all presidents and, depending on what state you live in, it could be celebrating a variety of different American leaders.

‘Presidents Day’ finds its roots back to the birth of our nation and with our first president, George Washington. The old ‘Presidents Day’ was once called ‘Washington Day’ and was celebrated on Washington’s Birthday. It started in 1796 when people began celebrating him during his final year as President. After some confusing calendar swapping and Washington’s death, February 22 became the official ‘Washington Day/Birthday’ where citizens expressed strong patriotism and held celebrations. In 1880, 84 years after the tradition began, Congress passed a law officially declaring the holiday as the first federal holiday to honor a person.

However, this changed in 1968, when Congress introduced the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill. This law was to alter a handful of holidays to always fall on Monday in an effort to create as many long weekends as possible for US workers. This included moving Washington’s birthday to the third Monday of February. Ironically this would mean that the new holiday date would never fall on the 22nd ever again.

During the debate of the bill, Congress discussed the idea of renaming the holiday to ‘Presidents’ Day’ as a way to honor Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (February 12th) as well. When the new holiday rules and name took effect in 1971, retail powers (specifically in the states Texas and California) latched onto the new ‘Presidents’ Day’ as a way to sell merchandise and to have holiday sales. Throughout the years, two more presidents were added into the celebration, William Henry Harrison (8th President) and Ronald Reagan (35th President).

Even though ‘Presidents’ Day’ became a national holiday, the states still had a say in what holidays they celebrated and for whom. Some states still celebrate Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays as separate occasions on the actual dates, while others celebrate ‘Presidents’ Day’ during November as a way to extended the holiday breaks. Then there are the oddballs,such as states as Alabama who celebrate completely different presidents, including Thomas Jefferson (who was born in April) in February.
Whether you celebrate ‘Presidents’ Day,’ ‘Washington’s Day,’ ‘Lincoln’s Day,’ or whatever American leader, February is a month for celebrating our past Commanders-in-Chief. A day for the whole nation to enjoy, whether that be sleeping in or buying a mattress.