Few states call it Washington's Birthday anymore (including my state, sigh). I've never gotten used to the name "Presidents' Day". Officially, I believe the name of the federal holiday remains Washington's Birthday. They attempted to change the name, but that provision never passed and the final Uniform Federal Holidays Act of 1971 did not change the name of the holiday (only changed it to the 3rd Monday in February instead of the actual date of his birth Feb 22).
Few states call it Washington's Birthday anymore (including my state, sigh). I've never gotten used to the name "Presidents' Day". Officially, I believe the name of the federal holiday remains Washington's Birthday. They attempted to change the name, but that provision never passed and the final Uniform Federal Holidays Act of 1971 did not change the name of the holiday (only changed it to the 3rd Monday in February instead of the actual date of his birth Feb 22).
Just checked my paper calendar and it's listed as Presidents' Day (USA). Our day off here is called Family Day/Heritage Day.
Also for Feb 22 its listed as Washington's Birthday (USA) Also noted on the same page is Lincoln's Birthday (USA) for Feb 12.
Feb 22 is the traditional Washington's Birthday, since that was the actual date of his birth. In 1971, the US made several of the Federal holidays uniformly on a Monday, including Washington's birthday. On the calendars of the 1970s and early 1980s, you will see both the "Observed" and "Traditional" Washington's birthday marked in February. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 (took effect starting 1971) also did away with federal observation of Lincoln's birthday. At any rate, the federal name of the holiday was never officially changed, although the name change was suggested as part of the original draft for the Act of 1968. The movement toward using "Presidents' Day" was an unofficial movement, that was slowly adopted primarily by special interests (specifically -- retailers) and then soon by several states, similar to the early movement for MLK's Birthday.
I think the earliest I ever saw "Presidents' Day" printed on a yearly calendar was the early 1980s.
Yeah, you know I used to collect calendars. As a gag, I used to re-use older calendars that had matching years. People thought I hadn't changed calendars in 5-14 years (depending on the matching year cycle). But I tossed almost the entire collection to make room for... more stamps.
One coworker has an autistic child who has a fascination with calendars (among a few other things). Every time she comes to our house, she thumbs through all our calendars. I usually give her all my outdated calendars now -- bet her father hates my guts now.
Just curious - -why would retailers care if it's George Washington's Birthday or Presidents' Day? Is there really a psychological preference for spending money if all the presidents are being honored?
I don't know why. I assume retailers are always looking for something "new" to promote sales, but that's just a guess. Also, I imagine there might have been some concerns about confusion regarding the actual date of the sale if it was called "Washington's Birthday Sale" -- is it on Feb 22 (his actual birthday that everybody at that time was used to using) or on Monday? I was too young at the time to think about business matters (other than to figure out who would give me the best price for my school lunch veggies that I wasn't planning on eating ).
Two of the reasons for switching Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day to Monday was to produce a long weekend and create a better opportunity for promoting retail sales and travel industry. Later that decade, Veterans Day got switched back to the traditional Nov 11 date which we now observe.
When I was young, I don't remember many "Washington's Birthday sales" when it was still on Feb 22 (of course, I wasn't really a big spender back in the early 1970s). But I definite remember starting to see Washington's Birthday sales in the years following the move to Monday, and in the past 20 years, lots of Presidents' Day sales. How much of that is due to internet, and how much is due to everybody (except the feds) changing the name of the holiday, I don't know. Most of this is just my "guess".
Too many many issues for me to comprehend on the whys. I just want to play around with little bits of printed paper.
Post by coastwatcher on Feb 18, 2020 9:55:23 GMT -5
Although most of our presidents have been more than capable, many even great, we have, unfortunately, had a few duds mixed in. I’m just not overly enthusiastic about celebrating them with the likes of Washington. I should actually say “honoring” as opposed to “celebrating” because I’ve never actually celebrated President’s Day.
“The President of today is just the postage stamp of tomorrow.” ~ Gracie Allen
“What should I do? I think the best thing is to order a stamp with my face on it.“ - Charles, Emperor of Austria (1882-1922) on learning of his accession to the throne
When I was growing up, the birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln were honored occasions. Now Washington's birthday (aka Presidents' Day) is just another sales promotion. Sigh. And Lincoln (not just his birthday) is at most just an afterthought for many people. Sigh. Ask people where Lincoln was from, many will say Illinois because he was a Representative there. But he actually grew up in Indiana and was born in Kentucky. I wanted to visit his birthplace the last couple of times I passed through Kentucky, but alas, my schedule didn't allow. Maybe next time...
When I was growing up, the birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln were honored occasions. Now Washington's birthday (aka Presidents' Day) is just another sales promotion. Sigh. And Lincoln (not just his birthday) is at most just an afterthought for many people. Sigh. Ask people where Lincoln was from, many will say Illinois because he was a Representative there. But he actually grew up in Indiana and was born in Kentucky. I wanted to visit his birthplace the last couple of times I passed through Kentucky, but alas, my schedule didn't allow. Maybe next time...
khj , There’s actually not that much to see, only a reproduction of a small, one room cabin. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve been there, though, and they may have added some things. Another attraction which isn’t far from Lincoln’s birthplace is Fort Harrod in Harrodsburg. It has much more to offer in my opinion. It is a reproduction of the fort built by James Harrod and has a working blacksmith shop as well as other exhibits portraying life on the frontier during the late 18th century. Fort Harrod was Kentucky’s first settlement and, in 1974, the USPS released a stamp (Scott #1542) commemorating it. Fort Boonesborough, which was named for Daniel Boone, is located within a few miles of Interstate 75 at Exit 95 and is similar to Fort Harrod with the added attraction of being easy to get to.
Last Edit: Feb 18, 2020 23:57:20 GMT -5 by coastwatcher
“The President of today is just the postage stamp of tomorrow.” ~ Gracie Allen
“What should I do? I think the best thing is to order a stamp with my face on it.“ - Charles, Emperor of Austria (1882-1922) on learning of his accession to the throne
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and most banks are closed!
As a gag, I used to re-use older calendars that had matching years. People thought I hadn't changed calendars in 5-14 years (depending on the matching year cycle). But I tossed almost the entire collection to make room for... more stamps. 
Stamps - the bear necessities of life.
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