The third Monday in February is the day we call President’s Day. But wait, is it really President’s Day? My wall calendar says it is President’s Day, the Google calendar says President’s Day, while Wikipedia claims it is officially Washington’s Birthday. Not only are there different names, but they celebrate different people. President’s Day would celebrate the office of President. Presidents’ Day celebrates multiple Presidents. And Washington’s Birthday honors George Washington. Which one is right, and why is there so much confusion?

The story begins in 1879, when a holiday was created on February 22nd to honor our first President, appropriately named Washington’s Birthday. In 1951 a group called the President’s Day National Committee, attempted to create a separate President’s Day, one not to celebrate a certain President but one to celebrate the office of President. They wanted the new President’s Day to be on March 4th, the original inauguration day, but this doomed the idea, because lawmakers thought that with Lincoln’s and Washington’s Birthdays just a few weeks before would be too many holidays. In 1971, Washington’s Birthday was changed to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This created some confusion since Washington’s Birthday will never land on Washington’s actual Birthday, February 22nd. For this reason and others many people started calling the day President’s Day. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act also moved Columbus, Memorial, and Veterans Day to Monday. However, Veterans Day was moved back to November 11th seven years later.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act was introduced by Rep. Robert McClory (R-Ill.). Many people saw it as a way to create more three-day weekends. McClory inserted a provision to combine Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthdays into one holiday. Yet, he had to drop it in order to gain votes from Virginia. He also provided to change the name to President’s Day, but this also had to be dropped for the same reason. The shift to the third Monday caused the greatest stir because many people realized the holiday would never land on his birthday. However, McClory asserted that it would indeed land on his birthday. The purpose of the bill was to create more holidays, but Rep. Harold Gross pointed out what would really happen, workers at restaurants and stores working later instead of having the day off.

There are 15 different names given to the third Monday in February. The reason there are so many different names is that even though it is a Federal holiday, the states can give it their own name. The most popular name is Presidents Day. Many states celebrate Washington and Lincoln. In fact, only two other people are included in other names, Thomas Jefferson and Daisy Bates (Civil Rights activist, Arkansas). In Wisconsin, we are one of only twelve states that do not celebrate President’s Day.

So whether you decide to call the third Monday in February President’s Day, Presidents’ Day, or Washington’s Birthday, remember it is officially Washington’s Birthday. And whoever you decide to celebrate Washington, Lincoln, all Presidents, your favorite President, or the office of President. Happy President’s Day everyone!