Fun Facts About President’s Day

What a great way to start the week off with a three-day-weekend, giving students and teachers only four days of school this week. Hopefully, you all got plenty of rest and very little homework during those three days. Though, it is important to know some things about this regional holiday, so here are 10 facts about President’s Day!

1. Because of the 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an Act of Congress that moved permanently to a Monday three Federal holidays in the United States — Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, and Labor Day — and that made Columbus Day a federal holiday, also permanently on a Monday, President’s Day is on the third Monday in February. This is why most of the holidays listed above are all on a Monday, and resulted in giving many people in the United States three-day-weekends.
2. This patriotic holiday was established in 1885 in honor of President George Washington’s birthday, which is February 22, 1732, making him 289 years old in 2021.

   

3. Thirteen states do not celebrate President’s Day: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
4. The government debated renaming the holiday to Presidents Day to include President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, but the proposal failed.
5. Interestingly enough, it’s still officially called Washington’s Birthday by the federal government.
6. President Theodore  “Teddy” Roosevelt has the most national parks named in his honor, and President Lincoln was a close runner-up for that achievement.
7.  All 35 parks are named after American Presidents, and one park that celebrates four of them, but it’s oddly named after a New York attorney.

   

8. Cherries are very popular when making desserts for celebrating George Washington’s birthday. The reason for the popularity of cherries relates directly to a story about George Washington. When asked if he’d cut down a cherry tree, George Washington said he could not tell a lie.
9. Coincidentally, four presidents born in February including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, William Harrison and Ronald Reagan. Most celebrate Presidents’ Day in honor of the first two because of their popularity.
10. President Lincoln was the one to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday.

We’re only a three-and-a-half weeks away from Spring Break so hang tight Knights, and hopefully you’ll be able to impress people with these big brain facts.

Credits:

https://www.imaginelearning.com/blog/2019/02/15-fun-facts-presidents-day

https://www.softschools.com/facts/holidays/presidents_day_facts/157/

https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/15-fun-facts-about-presidents-day-and-our-national-parks