This year, Monday, Feb 20th, is Presidents’ Day in the US, a holiday celebrated on the 3rd Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual day of birth—the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after 1971 when it was moved to the 3rd Monday in February in an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present with celebrations, reenactments and other patriotic events.
Given the heated political climate right now, this year’s Presidents’ Day holiday is guaranteed to be, if nothing else, “interesting”. Certainly 2017 will be the first time since the demonstrations during Civil Rights and Vietnam eras that the holiday will be marked by numerous protests such as the “Not My President March” scheduled for NYC and several other cities across the country.