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Presidents’ Day is quickly approaching, which may signal for many a relaxing three-day weekend and plenty of activities. Christmas sales and bargains.
But after Independence Day, there may be no other American holiday that is as patriotic.
While Presidents’ Day has become a commemoration of the country’s 46 chief executives, both past and present, It wasn’t always so broad.. When it first emerged, long before it was federally recognized, the holiday was meant to celebrate 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 do we see all these advertisements for cars and furniture on television?
Here’s what you should know about Presidents’ Day and how it came about:
When is Presidents Day 2024?
This year, Presidents’ Day is Monday, February 19.
The holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of every February due to a bill. signed into law in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Going into effect three years later, the Uniform Holiday Bill mandated that three holidays (Memorial Day, Presidents’ Day, and Veterans’ Day) be celebrated on Mondays to avoid midweek closures and add weekends. long weeks to the federal calendar. according to the British.
Other holidays, including Labor Day and Martin Luther King Jr. DayThey were also established to be celebrated on Mondays when they were first observed.
However, Veterans Day reverted to November 11, 1978, and the holiday 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 even called simply “Washington’s Birthday,” which is how the federal government still refers to it, according to the State Department. Explain.
Following the death of the revered leader of the American Revolution in 1799, February 22, widely believed to be Washington Day birthdateIt became a perennial day of remembrance, according to History.com.
The day remained an unofficial celebration for much of the 19th century until Senator Stephen Wallace Dorsey of Arkansas first proposed that it become a federal holiday. In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed it into law, according to History.com.
While initially recognized only in Washington, DC, Washington’s Birthday became a national holiday in 1885. Washington’s Birthday, the first to celebrate the life of an individual American, was at the time one of five recognized holidays. at the federal level; the others were Christmas, New Mexico. New Years, Thanksgiving and the 4th of July.
However, most Americans today probably do not view the federal holiday as a commemoration of a single specific president. Since then, Presidents’ Day has come to represent a day to recognize and celebrate all commanders in chief of the United States, according to the US State Department..
When the Uniform Holiday Bill went into effect in 1971, a provision was included to combine the celebration of Washington’s birthday with Abraham Lincoln’s on February 12, according to History.com. Because the new annual date Always falling between Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays, Americans believed the day was meant to honor both presidents.
Interestingly, advertisers may have played a role in the shift to “Presidents’ Day.”
Many companies took advantage of the opportunity to use the three-day weekend as a means to attract customers with Presidents Day Sales and negotiate in stores across the country, according to History.com.
How is the holiday celebrated?
Because Presidents Day is a federal holidaymost federal workers have the day off.
Part of the reason President Johnson made the day a uniform holiday was so that Americans would have 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 DC and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, which has the images of four presidents (Washington, Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt) are sure to attract many tourists.
Like Independence Day, the holiday is also considered a patriotic celebration. Unlike July, February may 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 United States.
Presidential locations abound throughout the United States
Opinions on current and recent presidents may leave Americans divided, but apparently we love our leaders old enough to name many places after them.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau extracted information from their databases showing interesting presidential geographic data about the nation’s cities and states.
Perhaps not surprisingly, census data shows that from 2020, The United States is home to many cities, counties, and towns that bear presidential names. Specifically:
- 94 places are called “Washington.”
- 72 places are named “Lincoln.”
- 67 places are named after Andrew Jackson, a controversial figure who owned slaves and forced thousands of Native Americans to march down the infamous Trail of Tears.
Contributing: Clare Mulroy
Eric Lagatta covers the latest news and trends for USA TODAY. Contact him at elagatta@gannett.com
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