Monday, February 20, 2023, is President’s Day. Originally it was a celebration of George Washington’s birthday. Eventually, it was moved to the third Monday in February. The move was forced by a bill passed by Congress in 1968 called the “Uniform Monday Holiday Act.” the bill’s purpose was to create three-day weekends.
When it took effect in 1971, most federal holidays were moved to Monday, and Columbus Day became a federal holiday. The exceptions were New Year’s, Christmas, July 4, and the late-November football-watching day, also known as Thanksgiving.
Because of an uproar, Veteran’s Day, which had been moved to a Monday, was returned to the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the day WW I ended.
While officially a celebration of Washington’s birthday, after the bill took effect in 1971, it morphed into President’s Day, tearing down an American hero and replacing it with a meaningless woke day off work (for some). It became a trivial holiday.
It’s okay to celebrate presidents individually, but not all 46 on the same day (and not all days off). Truth is, we’re not celebrating any Presidents if we’re celebrating all of them together. After all, we don’t celebrate the birthdays of all our siblings and parents on the same day, do we? Wouldn’t each feel slighted if none were given their special day? Besides, some in my family (me) earned a more significant celebration than others.
Suggesting that President’s Day is a trivial holiday isn’t about putting down a particular President (although in some posts, I do). Instead, the suggestion is about tossing out the wokeism and substitute a day of civics. A day of understanding the rights and obligations of every citizen and understanding how the Declaration Of Independence and the Constitution were part of creating those rights and obligations. Part of that day could explain how a President’s job has changed since George Washington.
