Washington's Birthday 2010: a Federal Holiday Now Unofficially Honoring All Presidents

George Washington would probably be surprised to learn that his birthday celebration is no longer observed on his real birthday, and that many people now like to use the new official date of his birthday celebration, the third Monday of February, as a way to honor all 44 individuals who have attained the office of the presidency.

So on 2/15/10, will we be honoring George Washington, or will we be honoring George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, or will we be honoring all presidents?

The best clarification that I could find on all of the confusion relating to this holiday is in an article on snopes.com. It states that the claim of any official designation as Presidents Day is shown to be false, and the article further states that although the date of recognition has been officially changed to the third Monday of February, the official designation is, and always has been, Washington's Birthday.

George Washington, "the father of his country"

Washington's Birthday will never again be officially celebrated on his actual birthday, since the 3^rd Monday of February can never fall on the date of his actual birth, which was February 22, 1732.

According to wikipedia.org, Washington was lauded as "the father of his country" as early as 1778 because of his central role in the formation of the United States.

A fact that I found interesting in that same wikipedia.org article was that the electoral college elected Washington unanimously in both 1789 and 1792, making him the only president to have ever received 100% of the electoral vote.

Abraham Lincoln, our 16^th president

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, and was our first Republican president.

In an article on wikipedia.org, I discovered that while Lincoln's opponent Douglas stumped the country, Lincoln was the only one of the four major candidates that year to give no speeches whatever, instead choosing to monitor the campaign closely while depending on the enthusiasm of the Republican Party to get him elected. It worked. He was elected to be our 16^th president on November 6, 1860.

I also learned that Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address in just over two minutes. It occurs to me that brevity like would be very refreshing if occasionally used in modern times.

Presidents Day weekend in Washington, DC

An article on about.com describes planned activities in Washington DC in recognition of Presidents Day. Among other scheduled activities, there will be free programs at the White House visitor center; three days of special events at Mt. Vernon (Washington's home); a wreath-laying ceremony and the reading of the Gettysburg address at the Lincoln Memorial; special programming at Ford's Theatre; a birthday ball; a 10K race, and, right on the 15^th, a George Washington birthday parade.

Elsewhere in the country

Because this is a federal holiday, people are reminded that there will be no mail delivery that day. This has become a day when sales are held in stores throughout the country, and is especially known to be a time for large car sales events.

Whether you pay homage to our presidents, shop and save money, or just relax for the day - having a Monday holiday at this time of the year is something that can certainly help break up the winter!

Sources:
snopes.com, website, Presidents Day claim declared false
wikipedia.org, website, George Washington
wikipedia.org, website, Washington's Birthday
wikipedia.org, website, Abraham Lincoln
dc.about.com, website, Rachel Cooper, about.com guide, "Washington DC Presidents' Day Weekend 2010"