Photo by Meadow Marie on Unsplash
Presidents’ Day, officially Washington’s Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February. It is often celebrated to honor all those who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879, has been the federal holiday honoring Founding Father George Washington, who led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolutionary War, presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and was the first U.S. president.
Lincoln’s Birthday, February 12, was never a federal holiday, but nearly half the state governments have officially renamed their observances “Presidents’ Day”, “Washington and Lincoln Day”, or other designations.
Using “President” in the official title:
- “Presidents’ Day” in Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Washington
- “President’s Day” in Alaska, Idaho, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming
- “Presidents Day” in Nevada and Oregon
- “Washington’s Birthday/President’s Day” in Maine
- “Lincoln/Washington Presidents’ Day” in Arizona
Using “Washington” alone:
- “George Washington Day” in Virginia
- “Washington’s Birthday” in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts,Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York
Using both “Washington” and “Lincoln”:
- “Lincoln’s and Washington’s Birthday” in Montana
- “Washington–Lincoln Day” in Colorado, Ohio
- “Washington and Lincoln Day” in Utah
- “Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthday” in Minnesota
Using “Washington” and another person:
- “George Washington/Thomas Jefferson Birthday” in Alabama
- “George Washington’s Birthday and Daisy Bates Day” in Arkansas
Using something else:
- “The third Monday in February” generic term used in California
Not a holiday:
- Some states do not officially observe the holiday on this day and do not have a day celebrating Washington or presidents in general. Delaware does not observe the Washington’s Birthday federal holiday.
