Happy Birthday, Mr. Washington, by Gayle McQueary

By Gayle McQueary, The Stream, February 17, 2025

Gayle McQueary is The Stream’s social media coordinator. She has a background in production and is a scary judge of what could happen when sharia law comes to a community near you.

On this Monday, we’d like to bring you some little-known facts in honor of President’s Day.

But first, a question: Is it “President’s Day”? or “Presidents’ Day”? Or even “Presidents Day”? Enquiring minds want to know whether it belongs to one president, a group of them, or is just an admission that our nation has had multiple presidents, and therefore we should all get a day off. If you know the correct answer, please email us at ContactUs@stream.org. Until then, we’re just going to pick one and go with it.

President’s Day Isn’t a Federal Holiday

First: There’s no such thing as President’s Day unless you’re a retailer gimmicking your way to high sale numbers over a three-day weekend.

The third Monday in February is, per law, officially recognized as Washington’s Birthday to honor George Washington, born on February 22. But on March 13, 1968, H.R. 15951, known as the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, was introduced in the House of Representatives with the purpose of marshalling all the federal holidays previously scattered throughout the work week into a more uniform observance on Mondays. According to Britanica, congressmen discussed renaming Washington’s Birthday “President’s Day” in order to simultaneously observe Abraham Lincoln’s Feb. 12 birthday , but Congress rejected the name change. …

Continue reading >>>>>>>>>>>>>