5 Things To Know About Presidents' Day On Mid-February Holiday

ACROSS AMERICA — The third Monday of February is a federal holiday, although it has a different name depending on which state it is celebrated in. Across the states, Presidents' Day, Feb. 15 this year, will specifically mark the birthdays of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. In recent years, the day has become more of a nod to all presidents.

Here are five things to know about the holiday:

The History: The holiday was originally created in 1885 to honor America's first president, George Washington, who had a birthday in mid-February. It wasn't until the 1960s when some states wanted to include the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, in the holiday since his birthday was in mid-February, too.

The transition in the holiday’s name from Washington’s Birthday to Presidents' Day began in the late 1960s as part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The bill proposed that the country celebrate holidays on Monday rather than when birthdays fell on the calendar, so workers could have a three-day weekend.

During the debate of that bill, it was proposed that Washington’s Birthday be renamed Presidents' Day to celebrate the birthdays of both Washington on Feb. 22 and Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12.

Congress actually rejected the name change in the 1968 version of the bill. However, after the bill went into effect in 1971, Presidents' Day became the commonly accepted name.

States Celebrate It Differently: Each state celebrates with its own name for the holiday on the third Monday of February. Thirteen states — Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Wisconsin — don't celebrate Presidents' Day or Washington's Birthday at all, a 2020 report from Newsweek shows.

States have also differed in where the apostrophe belongs in the holiday name. Both "President's Day" and "Presidents' Day" are marked on official state calendars.

In New Mexico, Presidents' Day is celebrated the day after Thanksgiving.

"Washington's Birthday" is still on the government websites in seven states, however, and other states recognize a combination of Washington, Lincoln and all presidents.

Alabama celebrates Thomas Jefferson, America's third president, in addition to Washington.

One City Has 44 Presidential Statues: Rapid City, South Dakota has been self-billed the "City of Presidents," with statues of all the country's first 44 presidents, from Washington to Barack Obama, located throughout their downtown.

There's a president statue at nearly every corner of the downtown, giving American historians and travelers another spot to see near Mount Rushmore.

"It’s a collaboration of U.S. history, American patriotism, public sculpture and national pride," the Black Hills & Badlands Tourism Association wrote on its website.

A Day Of Deals: When Presidents' Day became part of a three-day weekend, a shift from its longtime Feb. 22 date, marketers for major retailers have played up special deals.

Home Depot, Best Buy, Walmart, and Lowe's are some big-name companies holding deals for the day in 2021.

Presidential Coincidences: Of all the coincidences in presidential history, even after the Lincoln-Kennedy comparisons, the same-day deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson remains among the most remarkable. America's second and third presidents both died on the Fourth of July in 1826, newspapers in the era reported. Even more coincidental, James Monroe, America's fifth president, died five years later on July 4, 1831.