President's Day is Excuse For Three Day Weekend

Photo Courtesy Great Mall of the Great Plains

      On every third Monday in February, the United States celebrates President's Day, though many people are confused about what they are actually celebrating. Most people are just happy to have a day off work or out of school, but do they actually know why? There are many common misconceptions about President's Day. Some people believe that it is George Washington's birthday, while others believe that it is a combination of George Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays. Abraham Lincoln's actual birthday is February 12th, while George Washington's actual birthday is February 22nd. What most people don't know is that it is actually impossible for either George Washington's birthday or Abraham Lincoln's birthday to fall on the third Monday of February. Because of the leap year and how short the month of February is, the latest date that President's Day can occur is February 21st. Stephanie Miller, a local Avila University student, said that she assumed that President's Day was just a celebration of all of the Presidents. Clearly, there is confusion about what the day is actually about and why it was decided to be the third Monday of February.



 

Luke Staudacher, local college student.

     In 1968, a bill was passed called the Uniform Monday Holiday Act that moved the celebration of Washington's birthday to the third Monday of February in order to create more three-day weekends for federal employees. Even more interesting is the fact that the legislation does not actually mention Abraham Lincoln or President's Day at all. The holiday that occurs on the third monday in February is actually legally called "Washington's Birthday". Our modern day President's Day is really just a jumbled mess of confusion perpetuated by department store sales and elementary school teachers who tell their students that it's a celebration of all presidents. The real question is whether or not it is okay to misrepresent history in order to gain three day weekends? Theresa LaRose, an analyst at Ericsson, said that "if we are changing history for our own benefit, it loses it's meaning." While some, like Theresa, feel that it is entirely unethical, others seem to be more apathetic. Luke Staudacher, a local college student, feels that while it is unethical, it doesn't really both him that much. For video from our interview, see below.