As if there aren’t enough holidays packed into the relatively short month of February, we have another one right on the heels of Valentine’s Day this year. That’s right, tomorrow is President’s Day, which means that many of you have a three-day weekend for Valentine’s Day!
The History of Presidents’ Day
President’s Day has been a national holiday since the year 1879 when it was originally created in honor of George Washington’s birthday, which was on February 22nd (yes, our first president was a Pisces). In 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed, decreeing that holidays like President’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day and Veterans Day should all fall on a Monday, thereby giving American workers several 3-day weekends throughout the year.
This Act made it so that George Washington’s day would always fall on the third Monday of the month of February. According to Lifehacker, those in favor of this act believed that having more designated vacation time on the calendar would make it so that workers would be less likely to skip out on workdays. If you know you have a long weekend coming back, you might not call out of work so flippantly.
Presidents’ Day Today
When the holiday was changed from the 22nd to the third Monday of the month, it began to fall between Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays (Lincoln was born on February 12th). Many soon began to celebrate both presidents on that day, and, eventually, businesses realized they could use the day to market huge discounts and bargains as a way to drum up sales during a normally slow month. Hence, our current Presidents’ Day. By now your email inbox is probably chock full of emails offering you savings on every item you’ve ever so much as glanced at online.
George Washington
Here in New York, Presidents’ Day is considered George Washington’s Day, and for good reason. After all, Washington was the first-ever President of the United States of America. Seems like a good enough reason on its own to celebrate the man. Ironically, Washington himself did not particularly care about his own birthday while he was still alive. Instead, he would typically spend the day tending to matters of estate at Mount Vernon.
While nationwide, the third Monday of February now represents all former presidents, there is one tradition of honoring George Washington that has stood the test of time, and that’s the annual reading of his Farewell Address on the Senate floor every February 22nd. This custom was started during the Civil War when senators realized they needed a way to keep spirits up during what was a difficult time for our country. Washington’s words of unity in the face of division and his faith in the tenets of democracy have long been a source of comfort and inspiration for many.
This Presidents’ Day we’re wishing you crazy-good discounts on all the home goods you’ve been eying, and when you’re all done with your online shopping, stop into Trapper’s for a pizza to round out the three-day weekend.
Christie Donato is the Marketing Manager for Trapper’s Pizza Pub and a freelance writer. She’s a co-founder of Rogue Dialogue Productions and a writer on the podcast Windfall. Originally from Syracuse, she now resides in Queens with her dog, Piper. You can find more of her work here.