Presidents' Day

Third Monday in February
Washington's Birthday is the official name designated to what many of us know as "Presidents' Day". During the month of February, the birthdays of two of our greatest Presidents take place. Both George Washington, who was born on February 22nd, and Abraham Lincoln, born on February 12th.

Washington's Birthday became official in 1885, when President Chester Arthur signed a bill making it a federal holiday. Meanwhile, there was President Lincoln's birthday on February 12th, which never became a federal holiday but was celebrated as a legal holiday in many states outside the old Confederacy.

The third Monday in February is designated Washington's Birthday, but many Americans believe that this holiday is now called "Presidents' Day", in honor of both Presidents Washington and Lincoln.

Washington's birthday has been celebrated since he was in office, long before Lincoln was even born. Much of the debate over the name of the holiday is a result of the fact that states are allowed to celebrate their own holidays how they see fit, and many of them chose to also honor Lincoln, calling the celebration "President's Day".

In 1968, Congress passed the Monday Holidays Act, which moved the official observance of Washington's birthday from February 22nd to the third Monday in February. Some reformers had wanted to change the name of the holiday as well, to "Presidents' Day", in honor of both Lincoln and Washington, but that proposal was rejected by Congress, and the holiday remained officially Washington's Birthday.

In the 1980s, there was a resurgence of the term "Presidents' Day" with advertisers, which solidfied the holiday name in American culture.

On February 22nd, of almost every year since 1888, Washington's Farewell Address has been read in the U.S. Senate. While this does not happen on Presidents Day, it is an annual celebration of Washington's Birthday that stems from 1862 when the Address was read as a way to boost morale during the Civil War.

The third Monday in February can only occur between February 15th and February 21st. This means that the holiday is always after Lincoln's birthday and before Washington's birthday, without ever coinciding with either.

Washington was born on February 11th, 1731, according to the Julian calendar. In 1752, however, Britain and her colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, jumping ahead 11 days and making January the first month of the year instead of March. According to this calendar, Washington's birthday occurred on February 22nd 1732.