Presidents’ Day is often summed up as “just a day off,” but to those who started it – and who follow American history – it means so much more.
But first, let’s get to the point: Federal offices (remember, no mail is delivered), most banks, the New York Stock Exchange, and the NASDAQ are closed for Presidents’ Day. What isn’t closed are many major stores that use the day for sales.
What exactly is Presidents’ Day? I’m glad you asked.
1. He never told a lie (allegedly): The inspiration for this day off is America’s first president, George Washington.
When Washington died in 1799, he was considered such an important figure in the history of the United States that his birthday – Washington was born on February 22, 1732 – became a day of perennial remembrance, starting in 1800. The holiday was called Washington’s Birthday.
2. When did Presidents’ Day become official? Washington’s Birthday was not truly an official holiday until January 31, 1879, when President Rutherford B. Hayes signed it into law, although it only applied to federal employees in the District of Columbia.
It took until 1885 for it to be celebrated by the entire country.
3. When did Washington’s birthday change its name to Presidents’ Day? Good question with no real definitive answer. The United States Congress and no actual president has ever requested the name change from Washington’s birthday to Presidents’ Day.
A blog from Mount Vernon, the house where Washington lived that is now a museum, said Presidents’ Day had been proposed as a Monday public holiday in 1951, but nothing happened.
What the site surmises is that the ubiquitous Presidents’ Day commercials and sales announcements led the public to adopt the holiday’s name.
It was also seen as a good way to honor all of the country’s presidents, rather than just one.
Read also: The 10 strangest presidential facts of all time
4. Why isn’t Washington’s actual birthday celebrated? It was not until June 28, 1968, that Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which provided for a uniform annual observance of Monday legal holidays.
You can thank Senator Robert McClory of Illinois, who sponsored the bill, which proposed moving federal holidays so they could be three-day weekends. By creating more three-day weekends, Congress hoped to “bring substantial benefits to both the spiritual and economic life of the Nation.”
This is why some federal holidays are celebrated on Monday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day (also known as Columbus Day), Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The irony of this change to Presidents’ Day is that it guarantees that the holiday will not be celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday, since the third Monday cannot fall later than February 21.
5. What does President Abraham Lincoln have to do with all this? Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, and somehow his birthday was tied to Washington’s birthday. In some places in the United States, Lincoln’s birthday was celebrated alone. (Some schools had winter break between Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays.)
Combining the two holidays was also a provision of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
While the fact remains, what other president could advertisers use with Washington other than “Honest Abe”?
Read next: Will US stock markets be closed on New Year’s Day? Plus, more dates for 2024
Photo: Shutterstock
This article was previously published by Benzinga and has been updated.