Current:Home > MyWhat is Presidents Day and how is it celebrated? What to know about the federal holiday -Wealth Evolution Experts
What is Presidents Day and how is it celebrated? What to know about the federal holiday
View
Date:2025-04-15 07:13:00
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 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 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 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 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 President 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 four 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 interesting 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 [email protected]
veryGood! (7845)
Related
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Cate Blanchett talks new movie 'Borderlands': 'It's not Citizen Kane!'
- Get an Extra 50% Off J.Crew Sale Styles, 50% Off Banana Republic, 40% Off Brooklinen & More Deals
- Team USA golfer Lilia Vu's amazing family story explains why Olympics mean so much
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Teen Mom Stars Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley’s Daughter Leah Looks All Grown Up in Rare Photo
- Debby bringing heavy rain, flooding and possible tornadoes northeast into the weekend
- ‘Alien: Romulus’ actors battled lifelike creatures to bring the film back to its horror roots
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Team USA's Grant Holloway wins Olympic gold medal in 110 hurdles: 'I'm a fireman'
Ranking
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- Wall Street rallies to its best day since 2022 on encouraging unemployment data; S&P 500 jumps 2.3%
- Harris and Walz head to Arizona, where a VP runner-up could still make a difference
- Parents of 3 students who died in Parkland massacre, survivor reach large settlement with shooter
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- Teen Mom Stars Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley’s Daughter Leah Looks All Grown Up in Rare Photo
- Handlers help raise half-sister patas monkeys born weeks apart at an upstate New York zoo
- Fighting Father Time: LeBron James, Diana Taurasi still chasing Olympic gold
Recommendation
Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
Wisconsin man convicted in wrong-way drunken driving crash that killed 4 siblings
Wisconsin man convicted in wrong-way drunken driving crash that killed 4 siblings
Pregnant Brittany Mahomes Trolls Patrick Mahomes Over Wardrobe Mishap
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
Taylor Swift cancels Vienna Eras tour concerts after two arrested in alleged terror plot
USA basketball pulls off furious comeback to beat Serbia: Olympics highlights
Homeowners race to refinance as mortgage rates retreat from 23-year highs