Presidents Day

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Officially Presidents Day is the third Monday in February and is a day to honor all of the Presidents of the United States. However it is more commonly known as a day to honor two of our most popular presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Originally Washington's Birthday was celebrated on February 22nd and Lincoln's Birthday was celebrated on February 12th. However the Uniform Holiday Bill of 1968 joined the two holidays and fixed them to the third Monday in February. Another fact that adds to the confusion about Presidents Day was the calendar change that occurred in George Washington's time. The Julian calendar was in use at the time of Washington's life and he was actually born on February 11th. However in 1752 the Gregorian calendar was put into use which changed Washington's Birthday to February 22nd. Now that the holiday is fixed to the third Monday it can occur anywhere between February 15th and February 21st and never actually coincide with either of Washington's Birthdays.