Why Do We Celebrate President’s Day?

When I was a kid we celebrated George Washington’s birthday. We also celebrated Abe Lincoln’s birthday.  Now those two days seemed to have morphed into a holiday called President’s Day. Some of us get off work. Some of us don’t. Our company celebrates Presidents Day, but I am still working. (Good thing I love my job.)  So why is President’s Day a national holiday? Is it because some of their faces are carved in rock?

According to Wikipedia:

Washington’s Birthday is a United States federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States. It is also commonly known as Presidents Day. Washington’s actual birthday is February 22nd. On January 1st, 1971, the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

Lincoln’s birthday is February 12th, but it was never officially a federal holiday.

All Federal Government offices are closed on President’s Day, including the post office. Most schools are closed. Banks are closed too.

Some local government offices are closed. Some are not.

• Greeley City Hall, the City Hall Annex, the Public Works Administration Building, and the Lincoln Park Annex (including Municipal Court) will be closed on Monday.
• City of Loveland offices are open on Presidents’ Day
• In Fort Collins: In honor of Presidents Day, all City offices will be closed on Monday. The Gardens on Spring Creek will also be closed. All other Recreation facilities, Transfort bus service, and library branches will be open following normal schedules.

Here are what some of the local school districts say on their websites:

• In the Poudre School District (Fort Collins):   K–12 Students Off/Collaboration Day
• Weld County School District 6 (Greeley/Evans):  Schools and district offices are closed today in observance of Presidents Day.
• The Thompson School District (Loveland/Berthoud):   All Schools and offices closed for President’s Day
• In the Weld Re-4 District (Windsor/Severance):  Vacation Day-No Students/No Staff

If you don’t know about your school, check their website. It’s always a good place to start.