Presidents Day was this past Monday and for many Americans it is viewed as another day off of work after a weekend filled with heavily advertised discounts by retailers. One may ponder the true history of the holiday; as much is to be recognized.
The origins of Presidents Day dates to the first American president, George Washington.
The birth date of our first president was Feb. 11, 1731 and during that time the British Empire and its colonies followed the Julian calendar. In 1752, the British Empire began following the Gregorian calendar. By doing so, those who were born prior to 1752 had their birthdays observed under dates that they would have coincided under the Gregorian calendar. Due to the placements of dates with the calendar change Washington’s birthday would come to be known as Feb. 22, 1732.
Presidents’ Day is the first federal holiday to honor an American president. The holiday was originally known as Washington Day and was celebrated on Feb. 22 to honor the birth of the country’s first president. In 1879, Washington’s birthday was noted as a federal holiday by an act of Congress.
President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was Feb. 12, 1809, only days prior to the observance of Washington’s. While Lincoln’s birthday was observed it was never officially a federal holiday.
In 1951 the first attempt to create a Presidents Day occurred, but due to numerous challenges in the process, the holiday we know today would not be formally observed until 1968. The belief was the holiday was not to honor any particular president, but to honor the office of the presidency.
The original plan was to observe Presidents Day on Inauguration Day in the beginning of March. Due to the date and the observance of Washington’s birthday and the proximity to Lincoln’s birthday, some believed that three holidays in a short period of time would be a call for concern.
On June 28, 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was signed into law and established the observance of several holidays shifting them to Mondays. Among those moved by the act were Washington’s birthday which was altered from a fixed date of Feb. 22 to the designated Monday. The act also created an increase in three-day weekends for federal employees with the changes to several holidays. In the 1980s, numerous retail advertisers began the use of the phrase Presidents Day to market discounted sales of products to consumers.
The belief in honoring the office of the presidency allows us to greatly appreciate the rich history of the office and those who have held the highest office in our country.
Here are some interesting fun facts relating to those who have served holding the office of the President of the United States:
· The oldest person to ever become president was Ronald Reagan at age 69. Prior to him the record was held by William Henry Harrison who was 68.
· As a stamp collector, Franklin D. Roosevelt received the first sheet of every commemorative issue while president.
· The first Roman Catholic president was John F. Kennedy.
· A fan of comic books, Barack Obama has appeared on the covers of numerous comic books including Amazing Spider-Man — his favorites are Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian.
· The only president to serve in both the American Revolution and the War of 1812 was Andrew Jackson.
· The first Rhodes Scholar to be elected president was Bill Clinton.
· The first president to campaign by telephone was William McKinley in 1896.
· The first president to have facial hair was Abraham Lincoln.
· The “S” in Harry S. Truman does not stand for anything.
· The only American president to not speak English as his first language and also the first president born as a citizen of the United States was Martin Van Buren.
· Donald Trump has appeared in numerous movies and television programs including The Jeffersons, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Zoolander, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
Tom Gordon writes from Westminster. He writes every other Saturday. Email him at tgordonwrites@gmail.com.