What is Presidents Day and how is it celebrated? What to know about the federal holiday (2024)

Many will have a day off on Monday in honor of Presidents Day. Consumers may take advantage of retail sales that proliferate on the federal holiday, but here's what to know about the history of it.

Eric LagattaUSA TODAY

Presidents Day is fast approaching, which may signal to many a relaxing three-day weekend and plenty of holiday sales and bargains.

But next to Independence Day, there may not exist another American holiday that is quite so patriotic.

While Presidents Day has come to be a commemoration of all the nation's 46 chief executives, both past and present, it wasn't always so broad. When it first came into existence – long before it was even federally recognized – the holiday was meant to celebrate just one man: George Washington.

How has the day grown from a simple celebration of the birthday of the first president of the United States? And why are we seeing all these ads for car and furniture sales on TV?

Here's what to know about Presidents Day and how it came to be:

When is Presidents Day 2024?

This year, Presidents Day is on Monday, Feb. 19.

The holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of every February because of a bill signed into law in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Taking effect three years later, the Uniform Holiday Bill mandated that three holidays – Memorial Day, Presidents Day and Veterans Day – occur on Mondays to prevent midweek shutdowns and add long weekends to the federal calendar, according to Britannica.

Other holidays, including Labor Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, were also established to be celebrated on Mondays when they were first observed.

However, Veterans Day was returned to Nov. 11 in 1978 and continues to be commemorated on that day.

What does Presidents Day commemorate?

Presidents Day was initially established in 1879 to celebrate the birthday of the nation's first president, George Washington. In fact, the holiday was simply called Washington's Birthday, which is still how the federal government refers to it, the Department of State explains.

Following the death of the venerated American Revolution leader in 1799, Feb. 22, widely believed to be Washington's date of birth, became a perennial day of remembrance, according to History.com.

The day remained an unofficial observance for much of the 1800s until Sen. Stephen Wallace Dorsey ofArkansas proposed that it become a federal holiday. In 1879, PresidentRutherford B. Hayessigned it into law, according to History.com.

While initially being recognized only in Washington D.C., Washington's Birthday became a nationwide holiday in 1885. The first to celebrate the life of an individual American, Washington's Birthday was at the time one of only five federally-recognized holidays – the others being Christmas, New Year's, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July.

However, most Americans today likely don't view the federal holiday as a commemoration of just one specific president. Presidents Day has since come to represent a day to recognize and celebrate all of the United States' commanders-in-chief, according to the U.S. Department of State.

When the Uniform Holiday Bill took effect in 1971, a provision was included to combine the celebration of Washington’s birthday with Abraham Lincoln's on Feb. 12, according to History.com. Because the new annual date always fell between Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays, Americans believed the day was intended to honor both presidents.

Interestingly, advertisers may have played a part in the shift to "Presidents Day."

Many businesses jumped at the opportunity to use the three-day weekend as a means to draw customers with Presidents Day sales and bargain at stores across the country, according to History.com.

How is the holiday celebrated?

Because Presidents Day is a federal holiday, most federal workers will have the day off.

Part of the reason Johnson made the day a uniform holiday was so Americans had a long weekend "to travel farther and see more of this beautiful land of ours," he wrote. As such, places like the Washington Monument in D.C. and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota – which bears the likenesses of Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt – are bound to attract plenty of tourists.

Similar to Independence Day, the holiday is also viewed as a patriotic celebration. As opposed to July, February might not be the best time for backyard barbecues and fireworks, but reenactments, parades and other ceremonies are sure to take place in cities across the U.S.

Presidential places abound across the U.S.

Opinions on current and recent presidents may leave Americans divided, but we apparently love our leaders of old enough to name a lot of places after them.

In 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau pulled information from its databases showcasing presidential geographic facts about the nation's cities and states.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the census data shows that as of 2020, the U.S. is home to plenty of cities, counties and towns bearing presidential names. Specifically:

  • 94 places are named "Washington."
  • 72 places are named "Lincoln."
  • 67 places are named for Andrew Jackson, a controversial figure who owned slaves and forced thousands of Native Americans to march along the infamous Trail of Tears.

Contributing: Clare Mulroy

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

What is Presidents Day and how is it celebrated? What to know about the federal holiday (2024)

FAQs

What is Presidents Day and how is it celebrated? What to know about the federal holiday? ›

Presidents Day is a federal and state holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February

third Monday of February
Presidents' Day, officially Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Presidents'_Day
to honor George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and all other American presidents.

What is Presidents Day and why is it celebrated? ›

On the third Monday in February, we honor our first President, George Washington, whose birthday is February 22. We also traditionally honor President Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday is February 12.

Is Presidents Day federally observed? ›

Because Presidents Day is a federal holiday, most federal workers will have the day off.

How to celebrate Presidents Day? ›

5 Easy Ways to Celebrate Presidents' Day
  1. Listen to and sing the official presidential song!
  2. Eat a president's favorite dessert.
  3. Read one (or all!) of these children's books.
  4. Ask your kids what they would do if they were President.
  5. Memorize the U.S. Presidents and the oath they've taken.

What states do not celebrate Presidents Day? ›

Tennessee recognizes Presidents Day (but spells it President's Day), but nine states don't observe the holiday at all.
  • Delaware.
  • Florida.
  • Iowa.
  • Kansas.
  • Kentucky.
  • Louisiana.
  • North Carolina.
  • Rhode Island.
Feb 19, 2024

Why do we need Presidents Day? ›

"Presidents Day is not just a day to focus on the men who were president, it's a great time to focus on the history of our nation," said Rogers. Presidents Day is a federal and state holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and all other American presidents.

Was Lincoln's birthday a federal holiday? ›

There were efforts right after Lincoln's death to get this birthday recognized as a holiday, but there has never been a federal Lincoln-birthday holiday. By 1890, Lincoln's birthday was observed as a paid holiday in 10 states.

Which four presidents were born in February? ›

Four presidents actually have birthdays in February: George Washington (the 22nd), Abraham Lincoln (the 12th), William Henry Harrison (the 9th), and Ronald Reagan (the 6th). But, in terms of Federal law, there is no "Presidents Day" — the holiday is officially Washington's Birthday.

What can I celebrate instead of Presidents Day? ›

While it may seem like the entire nation observes “Presidents' Day,” Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, and New York specifically recognize the third Monday in February as “Washington's Birthday” or “George Washington Day." Some states, such as Virginia, celebrate Washington's birthday the entire month of February.

What is the truth about Presidents Day? ›

The holiday was originally established in recognition of President George Washington, who was born February 22, 1732. It was declared a federal holiday in 1879 and became a national holiday in 1968.

What is a fun fact about Presidents Day? ›

Did you know Presidents Day, a federal holiday, is originally meant to celebrate the first U.S. president George Washington and was just called "Washington's Birthday" when established in 1879? In fact, the federal government still uses its former name, according to the Department of State.

Are Presidents Day and Washington's birthday the same? ›

And only in 1879 was his birthday formally made into a legal holiday for federal employees in the District of Columbia. The official designation is as Washington's Birthday, although it has come to be known informally as Presidents Day.

Do you say Happy Presidents Day? ›

Presidents' Day, which is officially George Washington's Birthday at the federal government level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated every year on the third Monday in February.

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