The annual Presidents Day is marked by an deluge of promotional sales but if consumers get a closer look at the flyers, TV ads and other promotional items popping out everywhere, they may notice the different ways people spell the holiday, which takes place on the third Monday of the month.
People may see variations in the holiday's name with some variants using an apostrophe. Interestingly, however it is spelled, Presidents Day does not technically exist because it is officially called Washington's Birthday.
Presidents Day was initially a holiday for federal workers in the District of Columbia in 1879 but the Congress started to adopt it for all federal offices by 1885. It was initially celebrated on George Washington's birthday on the 22nd day of February, which explains the official name of this federal holiday.
Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732 and even before his birthday was officially declared a holiday, Americans already started celebrating his day. It was not until his 100th birthday though that a joint committee was established to organize festivities for the celebration.
On Washington's 130th birthday, Supreme Court justices, the Congress and high ranking officials in the Cabinet, Army and Navy listened to the Secretary of State read aloud Washington's Farewell address, which until now is still being done for the Senate.
The holiday was moved to the third Monday of February by 1971 by virtue of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, the objective of which was greater uniformity with some of the country's yearly public holidays. According to the National Archives, the Congress hoped that the three-day weekends would provide economical and spiritual benefits for the country,
Besides the Presidents Day, other Monday holidays that were influenced by the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill include Veterans Day, Memorial Day and Columbus Day.
The National Archives likewise said that one reason why the holiday is now commonly referred to as Presidents Day was because during the debate of the Bill, it was suggested that the holiday could be called President's Day to celebrate not just Washington's birthday but also Abraham Lincoln's birthday, which falls on Feb. 12.
National Geographic also said that the reason the holiday is called Presidents Day is because advertisers in the 1980's and a number of states started to call the holiday Presidents Day. The holiday is said to be a time when Americans remember some of America's greatest leaders.
