Presidents’ Day is celebrated on the third Monday in February and was officially recognized as a federal holiday in 1879 to honor George Washington’s Birthday. It then evolved into a holiday commemorating Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday falls in the same month. Eventually, it became a day to recognize all of the U.S. presidents. This change started with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971, which aimed to provide workers with more three-day weekends. Therefore, while the holiday is still officially called Washington’s birthday at the federal level, it is now widely known as Presidents’ Day and is celebrated with sales, educational events, and public ceremonies. This year’s Presidents’ Day fell on February 17 and allowed students of the Hamburg Area School District to also have off on Valentine’s Day.
When asked if she knew what Presidents’ Day was all about, junior Allie Houck said that Presidents’ Day is a day to honor past presidents and what they did for the United States. While this is true, it still came as a shock to Allie that it began as a birthday celebration for George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
For more information about the history of Presidents’ Day visit https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/presidents-
day or https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/facts/the-truth-about-presidents-day.
