A short History of
Presidents’ Day
Presidents’ Day was first
celebrated in the 1880s, with the birthday of George Washington was first
celebrated as a federal holiday.
Controversy: long weekends
versus recognizing the actual date:
In 1968 Congress passed the
Uniform Monday Holiday Bill in 1968. This moved federal holidays to Mondays.
The intent was to provide for long weekends. There was opposition to this move,
by those who believe that those holidays should be celebrated on the dates they
actually commemorate.
And then there was one
national day for all presidents:
How many of us remember
celebrating both Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays as separate events?
Presidents' Day became the officially celebrated holiday in 1971, to honor the
birthdays of both Washington (February 22) and Abraham Lincoln (February12).
Note that Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was celebrated in many states, but was
never an official national holiday (I wonder which states celebrated? Extra
points awarded for those who can answer)
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