Presidents Day is a national holiday in the United States, which takes place every year on the third Monday in February to honor the presidents of the country. The establishment of the day in 1885 aimed to recognize the first president of the country, George Washington. Initially, the celebration of the festival took place in February 22, the real birthday of George Washington. Later, in 1971, the attempt to make the three-day weekend for workers in the country led to the development of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which gave the party the popular name “President’s Day” to be celebrated on the third Monday of February.
Origin
Presidents’ celebrations began after the death of the first president of the United States in 1799. Washington was an important person in the history of America at the time, and the national celebration was events such as the birthday of 1832 and the construction of the monument in Washington in 1848. The observance of George Washington’s birthday became national observance of the last 1870. The first to propose the official celebration was Senator Steven Wallace and with the signature of President Rutherford B. Hayes, was applied in 1879.
Uniform Monday Holiday Act
The law is a measure that Congress suggested in late 1960s to change Washington’s birthday to President’s Day. The law aimed to turn the celebration of several national holidays from special dates into a series of pre-selected Mondays. Many people considered it a way to create more three-day weekends for public workers, and they believed that ensuring that holidays coincided on the same days of the week would minimize employee absenteeism. The bill received support from various sectors, such as trade unions and private sectors, as they believed it was a reliable way to strengthen retail trade as well as reducing the meaning of holidays.
The law also strengthened the union of birthday celebrations for Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Abraham Lincoln’s birthday party was celebrated in some regions like Illinois. Therefore, joining the two days of celebration would mean recognizing the two most famous statespersons of America. Thus, the supporters of the law obtained sufficient support and McClory (one of the main supporters) gave the idea to rename the party as the day of the president. The uniform of the Monday Holiday Act came into force in 1971 after President Richard Nixon issued a political order for enactment. In addition to moving Washington day from its fixed date, even Memorial Day,
Public life on the President’s day
On Presidents Day, many businesses function normally because many stores keep sales. Many delivery services are active during this day, except for post office delivery. The operations of public transport systems usually follow regular hours. However, schools close for that week as students break for mid-winter holidays. Government sources indicate that Indiana observes George Washington’s birthday with a day off in December.
