Presidents’ Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Washington’s Birthday, popularly known as Presidents’ Day, is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February (celebrated on February 20 in 2006). Previously George Washington’s birthday was observed on February 22. By popular opinion the holiday also honors at least Abraham Lincoln and often other Presidents of the United States as well. Lincoln’s birthday is February 12, and although it was never a federal holiday, many state and local governments that had observed a “Lincoln’s Birthday” holiday have since abolished it in favor of a “common” holiday. Public celebrations for George Washington’s birthday actually predate his term as president, in honor of his service during the American Revolutionary War.
Observance on the third Monday of February dates to the Uniform Holidays Bill of 1968, which became effective in 1971. A draft of that bill called for a Presidents’ Day to honor both Washington and Lincoln, but the final version only moved Washington’s Birthday from the 22nd to the third Monday without changing its name. There is an urban legend that in 1971, President Richard Nixon issued a proclamation calling for a Presidents’ Day on the third Monday to honor all U.S. presidents, but no evidence of this exists in his official papers. As of 2006, the federal government and many state and local governments still officially designate the holiday as “Washington’s Birthday.” Yet most private employers and calendar makers refer to it as “Presidents’ Day.”
Adding to the confusion is that George Washington’s birthday was actually on February 11 of the Julian calendar, in use before England’s calendar reformation in September 1752. His birthday is equivalent to February 22 in the Gregorian calendar used since 1752. Washington himself considered the 22nd his birthday later in life. The third Monday in a month always falls between the 15th and the 21st, so the official holiday now never occurs on the 11th, the 22nd, or on Lincoln’s birthday.
In American schools the days leading up to the holiday are often used to educate students on the history of the Presidents of the United States, especially Washington and Lincoln. In recent years Presidents’ Day has become well-known for being a day in which many stores hold sales.
Until the late 1980s, corporate businesses were universally closed on this day the way they are on (for example) Memorial Day or Christmas, but since then more and more are staying open on the holiday each year and like Veterans Day and Columbus Day most delivery services outside of the Post Office now do regular service on the day as well. Even some public transit systems have gone to regular schedules on the day. Various theories abound for this, the most accepted one being to make up for the growing trend of corporations to close for Martin Luther King Day.
“Washington’s Birthday” is the designated holiday in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that specifies holidays for Federal employees.