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Today is Presidents Day. Or is it President’s Day? Or Presidents’ Day? Does anyone know? Does anyone care?
What does this day represent?
At one time, we celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12 and George Washington’s birthday on Feb. 22 – perhaps because Lincoln was instrumental in freeing the slaves and Washington was our first president. Why, though, did we celebrate the birthdays of only those two presidents?
Now, we note Presidents Day, which is usually celebrated closer to Washington’s birthday but rarely on the actual day itself. The day is now celebrated anywhere between Feb. 15 and Feb. 21 and is considered a federal holiday — which means there is no mail delivery, banks are closed and most schools are not open. To those working outside the U.S. postal system, the banking industry and the education system, it’s just another day.
The day does, however, always fall on a Monday, giving those who celebrate the day a long weekend. How convenient?
But, what is Presidents Day really all about?
Today, the February holiday has become well known for being a day in which many stores, especially car dealers, hold sales. Is that what the holiday was intended to do — give businesses another reason to make money. What do sales have to do with presidents?
The Times Leader Media Group’s weekly newspapers recently asked children why Presidents Day is celebrated. The answers vary widely.
One young man from Dallas said, “It’s all about learning from history’s mistakes, and sometimes presidents mess up.”
Another young man, also from Dallas, answered, “Because some of the presidents helped to prevent the wars, but Trump wants to start a war and some want to take our guns away.”
A youngster from South Abington Township said, “We celebrate the two birthdays of the presidents.” Do presidents have two birthdays?
Out of the mouths of babes. Where do these kids hear this stuff? In school? At the kitchen table? On the playground?
We suppose Presidents Day is what each of us makes of it. Wouldn’t it be nice if the day meant something more to us than a day off from work or a fabulous sale?
From the research we conducted, we found this:
In the following states and possessions, Washington’s birthday is an official state holiday and known as:
• Presidents’ Day in Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Washington
• President’s Day in Alaska, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming
• Presidents Day in Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Oregon
• Washington’s Birthday/President’s Day in Maine
• Lincoln/Washington/Presidents’ Day in Arizona
• George Washington Day in Virginia
• Washington’s Birthday in Illinois, Iowa and New York
• Lincoln’s and Washington’s Birthday in Montana
• Washington-Lincoln Day in Colorado, Ohio
• Washington and Lincoln Day in Utah
• Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthday in Minnesota
• George Washington/Thomas Jefferson Birthday in Alabama
• George Washington’s Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day in Arkansas
• “The third Monday in February” in California. Lincoln’s birthday is explicitly named as a separate holiday.
Whatever Presidents Day means to you and however you choose to spend it, enjoy!