Presidents Day is the day we honor our former chief executives by closing banks, pruning roses and selling towels. Find out more with the Who2 grab bag of presidential biographies and facts.
Presidents Day is a federal holiday where most Americans get together and agree on one thing: what the hell is Presidents Day?
We once honored President George Washington on this holiday. Celebrated by some as 11 February (the flat-earthers who cling to the Julian calendar), Washington’s birthday, 22 February, WAS the federal holiday.
Here’s a fun video that shows some people really celebrating Washington’s birthday:
We also once honored President Abraham Lincoln on his birthday, 12 February.
In the late 1960s, the push for three-day weekends changed all that, and by 1971 there was just one holiday, the third Monday of February, officially called Washington’s Birthday.
Now most people call it Presidents Day, and we have some vague sense it’s in honor of somebody on this list:
The Presidents of the United States.
For a visual assist, see our feature on Some Drawings of Some Presidents.
To find out whose face is on what currency, try our feature On the Money.
What about Tecumseh’s Curse? Read about it in Elected in ‘0’ Years.
And if presidential scandals are your cup of tea, read Presidents Who Slugged Someone or Presidential Sex Scandals. You should also visit our feature on May-December romances, Aging Presidents and Sweet Young Brides.
Speaking of presidential brides, we also have a list of First Ladies of the United States.
And for those who just can’t get enough trivia, there’s The Unfinished Terms of U.S. Vice Presidents.
Happy Presidents Day, Mr. Washington!