Did you know that this holiday is actually designated as “Washington’s Birthday” and is a Federal Holiday according to section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that specifies holidays for Federal employees?  Though states and local governments and even private businesses may use other names, such as Presidents’ Day, it is the U.S.’s policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law.  It was made a federal holiday in 1885; however the District of Columbia did start celebrating Washington’s Birthday in 1880 which is February 22^nd.

In 1968 Congress enacted the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. They moved Washington’s Birthday to the 3^rd Monday in February each year.  This meant it would fall between February 15^th and February 21^st each year and never actually land on Washington’s true birthday. As for the state of Missouri, we have designated it as Washington’s Birthday and all federal, state, local municipalities and schools are closed.  Of course there are always exceptions.

So how did we end up calling it President’s Day?  When the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was enacted it created three-day holidays for Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Washington’s Birthday.  Some states were already celebrating Lincoln’s Birthday and Washington’s Birthday and when they made the holiday on the third Monday, many folks thought they were combining the two.  Some states dropped Lincoln's Birthday as a holiday and it became known as Presidents’ Day.  As society became more tv and radio savvy with advertising, the Presidents’ Day Sales began emerging. 

There is still much controversy in the political ranks as to what the day should be called and what day we should celebrate.  Even this week, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) reintroduced legislation calling for George Washington’s birthday to be celebrated on his actual birthday of February 22^nd.  He is a longtime admirer of Washington’s life and leadership and has advocated for moving the date of this holiday for years.  He even testified on the topic at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in 2012.

So whatever day we call it or whatever day we actually observe, we should remember that George Washington was our first President of the United States and since that inauguration we have had a long line of presidents in a country that we are so very proud of and free to vote as we so choose.  Like a marriage, for better or worse, until death do we part, we should be proud to be Americans and living in the greatest nation on this earth.  Who knew that after 200 years we would still be discussing George Washington's Birthday and when to celebrate it.

Happy Presidents' Day and Happy Birthday George!