Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,
Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.
Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,
This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.
Hail to the one we selected as commander,
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!
~Lyrics by Albert Gamse
and set to James Sanderson's music
If you work for a bank or the government, you may have spent today off work. Same goes for school-aged children and teachers. For many of the rest of us, it was business as usual. If you work in retail, you may even have had a more hectic day punctuated by the ubiquitous President's Day sale. You have to wonder what George Washington and Abraham Lincoln would think of their cartoon likenesses selling everything from furniture to automobiles.
The third Monday of February is "President's Day" in the United States ... or is it? Actually, the third Monday in February is when George Washington's birthday is celebrated. There is no federal holiday called, "President's Day."
Our first President was born on February 22, 1732. In 1879, Washington's Birthday became a holiday in the District of Columbia. In 1885, it became a federal holiday. Until 1971, the United States celebrated Washington's birthday on February 22. However, in 1968 Congress enacted the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to permanently set five federal holidays on Mondays in order to create more three-day weekends. The Monday holidays included Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day and Veteran's Day (which was ultimately moved back to November 11).
A popular misconception is that the Act created "Presidents Day." Lincoln's birthday, while also in February, has never been designated as a federal holiday. An early version of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act designated the third Monday in February as "Presidents Day," and set the holiday to fall after Lincoln's birthday and before Washington's birthday. Not surprisingly, this idea is attributed to legislators from the Land of Lincoln. However, the state of Virginia objected to celebrating Lincoln with Washington, and the federal holiday remained Washington's Birthday.
Among the states, there is no agreement on how to commemorate the two Presidents' birthdays. Some states follow federal law and celebrate Washington's Birthday on the third Monday of February. Some states celebrate Presidents Day on the third Monday of the month. Some states celebrate Presidents Day at an entirely different time of the year. Some states, like my home state of Illinois, celebrate Washington's Birthday on the third Monday of February and Lincoln's birthday on February 12. States in the South (those that seceded from the Union in the 1860s) do not mention Lincoln by name. See Presidents Day 2016: Proof Alabama still hasn't forgiven Abraham Lincoln.
February may be the month in which two of our most popular Presidents were born, but October boasts the most Presidential births with six (Jimmy Carter, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester Arthur, Dwight Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, and John Adams). Two other Presidents were born in February--Ronald Reagan and William Henry Harrison.
Before it's time to go back to work, here are a couple quizzes to test your Presidential knowledge: Washington Post Presidents Day Quiz and Put the Presidents in Order. Enjoy!
A popular misconception is that the Act created "Presidents Day." Lincoln's birthday, while also in February, has never been designated as a federal holiday. An early version of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act designated the third Monday in February as "Presidents Day," and set the holiday to fall after Lincoln's birthday and before Washington's birthday. Not surprisingly, this idea is attributed to legislators from the Land of Lincoln. However, the state of Virginia objected to celebrating Lincoln with Washington, and the federal holiday remained Washington's Birthday.
Among the states, there is no agreement on how to commemorate the two Presidents' birthdays. Some states follow federal law and celebrate Washington's Birthday on the third Monday of February. Some states celebrate Presidents Day on the third Monday of the month. Some states celebrate Presidents Day at an entirely different time of the year. Some states, like my home state of Illinois, celebrate Washington's Birthday on the third Monday of February and Lincoln's birthday on February 12. States in the South (those that seceded from the Union in the 1860s) do not mention Lincoln by name. See Presidents Day 2016: Proof Alabama still hasn't forgiven Abraham Lincoln.
February may be the month in which two of our most popular Presidents were born, but October boasts the most Presidential births with six (Jimmy Carter, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester Arthur, Dwight Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, and John Adams). Two other Presidents were born in February--Ronald Reagan and William Henry Harrison.
Before it's time to go back to work, here are a couple quizzes to test your Presidential knowledge: Washington Post Presidents Day Quiz and Put the Presidents in Order. Enjoy!
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