You'll hear it referred to as Presidents' Day all day – on TV newscasts, as the theme of various store sales – but actually, it just happens to be the day that George Washington's Birthday is celebrated, instead of the actual date of Feb. 22nd.
The Mount Vernon website explains it nicely. It notes,"The road to what the majority of the public in the United States now recognizes as Presidents’ Day is a long and confusing one. After Washington died in 1799, his birthday was informally celebrated across the country.
"It wasn’t until January 31, 1879, that Washington’s birthday became a federally recognized holiday.
"Until 1968, Washington’s Birthday had always been celebrated on February 22. It was tradition and a powerful reminder of the man who helped create what we have today in the United States.
"On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the “Uniform Monday Holiday Act”. This law was to provide uniform annual observances of certain legal public holidays on Mondays. The act was also created to provide federal employees with more three-day weekends. Under this new law, Washington’s birthday would be celebrated on the third Monday of February, partially losing the value and identity of the importance of his birthday. Washington’s birthday has not been celebrated on the actual day of his birth since the law took effect in 1971."
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| May 10, 1971 |
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| June 28, 1971 |
The initial rollout in1971 of the new Presidents' Day caused some confusion, according to this article that ran in the Journal on Feb. 11, 1971.
For some businesses, they merely ran their Washington's Birthday (or Brithday, in Arby's case) sales on Feb. 15th.
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| Feb. 15, 1971 |
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| Feb. 15, 1971 |
At least it didn't use clip art of young George with hatchet in hand.
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