Presidents’ Day
Washington’s Birthday began as a federal holiday in 1880 in the District of Columbia. It expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices, and popular tradition began to expand the holiday to cover Abraham Lincoln’s birthday as well. On Jan 1/71, the federal holiday was shifted to the 3rd Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, and it is observed by government employees and some private businesses in the USA. The term “Presidents Day” began popular usage in the 1980s.
The concept of holidays on Canada Day, Bastille Day, Waitangi Day/ Bob Marley’s birthday (Feb 6) et. al. was extremely appealing. In the end, however, DID decided to standardize on American public holidays as non-publication days, along with Remembrance Day (known as Veterans’ Day in the US). Publication will resume tomorrow.
