Presidents Day holiday Archives - View from the Front Porch

20 02, 2023

A Strange Holiday

By judythemorgan|2023-02-19T10:45:56-06:00February 20th, 2023|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

Today is President’s Day… or is it Presidents’ Day… Presidents Day… Or Washington’s Birthday as the Office of Personnel Management notes on its federal calendar.

All those names are used.

With no official name, it’s hard to know how or what to call the holiday and it’s a grammar nightmare. The apostrophe is everywhere.

Sometimes there’s none, i.e. Presidents Day. Sometimes the apostrophe is placed between the last two letters as in President’s Day. Sometimes it’s after the last letter Presidents’ Day.

Then President is used as plural or singular.

To most people, the day is when banks and federal employees have a holiday and retail stores run sales.

Back in my day, we celebrated two presidential birthdays in February on their actual birthdays –George Washington on February 22 and Abraham Lincoln on February 16.

The 1971 Uniform Monday Holiday Act changed all that with the creation of three-day weekends and designated the third Monday of February to honor all presidents, past and present. That blurred the day’s meaning from the original purpose.

You’ll also notice Presidents’ Day never falls on either Washington or Lincoln’s birthdates or any of the other four presidents’ February birthdates—George Washington, William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan.

Strange holiday, I say.

Whatever you call the holiday and however you choose to write it, enjoy the day.

Maybe do a little reading. Check out my author page for some excellent book choices.

19 02, 2018

Why I think President’s Day is a Strange Holiday

By judythemorgan|2018-02-01T17:36:41-06:00February 19th, 2018|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|3 Comments

Three things strike me as making Presidents Day holiday strange.

1. There’s no universal agreement on the actual name of the holiday

Most American holidays are clear-cut in what we are celebrating or honoring, i.e. 4^th of July, Thanksgiving, or Martin Luther King Day.

Not so with Presidents Day. Ask several people what President’s Day recognizes or why we celebrate, and you’re likely to get totally different answers.

Fact is, President’s Day originated to recognize George Washington’s actual day of birth, February 22. It was the first federal holiday to celebrate the life of an individual and joined only four other national bank holidays – Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving.

Then under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971, which was passed to create more three-day weekends and increase retail and tourism revenue, it became known as Presidents’ Day and included President Abraham Lincoln whose birthday is February 12.

2. There’s no clear clarification of which presidents are being honored

Popular culture gradually shifted the emphasis from recognizing Washington and Lincoln to a day to recognize the lives of American presidents generally.

Interesting to note that the Federal government still labels the third Monday in February on official calendars as Washington’s Birthday.

3. There’s no agreement about whether to use an apostrophe or not

Sometimes the apostrophe isn’t used at all (as in Presidents Day), sometimes it is placed between the last two letters (President’s Day), and sometimes it is after the last letter (Presidents’ Day).

No specific title for the holiday is a little confusing, especially if you happen to be an English teacher.

Seems reasonable to say those three things make Presidents’ Day or President’s Day or Presidents Day a slightly strange holiday.

Wouldn’t you agree?