You may recognize President’s Day as just a weekend of sales and deals that companies use to bring in money, but that never really was its intended purpose. Presidents Day dates back to 1800 when George Washington, the first president of the United States, died a year prior. The country celebrated his birthday on February 22 as a way to remember and mourn a great president who would then go on to serve and lead as an example for future presidents. They celebrated this unofficial observance day for almost 80 years until it became an official federal holiday due to a proposition by the Senator of Arkansas. To make it official, it was later signed by President Rutherford Hayes in 1879. The holiday spread from Washington D.C to the rest of the U.S. and remains among other federal holidays like Christmas, New Year, and Independence Day. The day later became known as Presidents Day in the late 1960s when Congress decided to sign the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which would make federal holidays every third Monday in the month so that instead of specific days, it would be predetermined. The three-day weekends resulting from this law could also help labor unions reduce employee nonattendance. The holiday came to be associated with Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday as it took place on February 12th, which would recognize both great American presidents. Eventually, Nixon passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act which would start in 1971. From that year forward, Presidents Day and other federal holidays like Memorial and Columbus Day shifted from their special dates to the third Monday of their respective month. While this shift cheapened the meaning of the holiday, a new meaning of it would emerge and spread. Instead of celebrating two Presidents’ birthdays, it would celebrate all presidents and their accomplishments during their presidency. From there, companies used this weekend for big sales and deals on regular items. Just like most holidays, Presidents Day grows from a unique meaning and later on gets more commercialized which makes it lose its meaning.
