VISITING
AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE
FEBRUARY
2011
UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA
PRESIDENTS'
DAY
Forwarded
by American Patriots
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LEST
WE FORGET THOSE
WHO
HELPED MAKE THIS COUNTRY GREAT! |
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George
Washington's Birthday
http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/washington/
George Washington's Birthday is
celebrated as a federal holiday on the
third Monday in February. It is one of
eleven permanent holidays established by
Congress.
Federal holidays apply only to the
federal government and the District of
Columbia; Congress has never declared a
national holiday binding in all states
and each state decides its own legal
holidays.
George Washington was born in Virginia
on February 11, 1731, according to the
then-used Julian calendar. In 1752,
however, Britain and all its colonies
adopted the Gregorian calendar, which
placed Washington's birth on February
22, 1732.
Americans celebrated Washington's
Birthday long before Congress declared
it a federal holiday. The centennial of
his birth prompted festivities
nationally and Congress established a
Joint Committee to arrange for the
occasion.
At the recommendation of the Committee,
chaired by Henry Clay of the Senate and
Philemon Thomas of the House, Congress
adjourned on February 22, 1832 out of
respect for Washington's memory and in
commemoration of his birth.
Prompted by a memorial from the mayor
and other citizens of Philadelphia, the
House and Senate commemorated the 130th
Anniversary of Washington's birth by
reading aloud his Farewell
Address.
In a special joint session held in the
House Chamber, the House and Senate,
along with several cabinet officials,
Justices of the Supreme Court and
high-ranking officers of the Army and
Navy, gathered to listen to the
Secretary of State read the address
aloud. Eventually, the reading
of George Washington's Farewell Address
became an annual event for the Senate, a
tradition that is still observed to this
day.
Washington's Birthday, however, did not
become a legal holiday until January 31,
1879 when Congress added February 22nd
to the list of holidays to be observed
by federal employees in the District of
Columbia. The act did not stipulate that
employees were to be paid for the
holiday - in fact, some government
employees in the District of Columbia
were paid while others were not.
In 1885, Congress resolved this
discrepancy with legislation that
required federal employees to be paid
for all federal holidays and made
federal holidays applicable to all
federal government employees, including
those employed outside the Washington DC
area.
Washington's Birthday was celebrated on
February 22nd until well into the 20th
Century. However, in 1968 Congress
passed the Monday Holiday Law to
"provide uniform annual observances
of certain legal public holidays on
Mondays." By creating more 3-day
weekends, Congress hoped to "bring
substantial benefits to both the
spiritual and economic life of the
Nation."
One of the provisions of this act
changed the observance of Washington's
Birthday from February 22nd to the third
Monday in February. Ironically, this
guaranteed that the holiday would never
be celebrated on Washington's actual
birthday, as the third Monday in
February cannot fall any later than
February 21.
Contrary to popular belief, neither
Congress nor the President has ever
stipulated that the name of the holiday
observed as Washington's Birthday be
changed to "President's Day."
Since 1862 there has been a tradition in
the United
States Senate that George
Washington's Farewell Address be read on
his birthday. Citizens had asked that
this be done in light of the approaching
Civil War. The annual tradition
continues with the reading of the
address on or near Washington's
Birthday.
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George Washington,
copy of painting by
Gilbert Stuart, 1931 -
1932, RG 148, Records
of Commissions of the
Legislative Branch,
George Washington
Bicentennial
Commission.
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Letter from Chief
Justice John Marshall
to Henry Clay and
Philemon Thomas,
regarding the
centennial of George
Washington's birth,
February 4, 1832, RG
128, Records of the
Joint Committees of
Congress.
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Memorial of the mayor
and other citizens of
Philadelphia, praying
that George
Washington's Farewell
Address may be read to
both houses of
Congress and to the
army and navy of the
United States on the
22d of February,
January 31, 1862, RG
46, Records of the
United States Senate.
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S. 623, A bill to make
the 22nd day of
February, George
Washington's Birthday,
RG 46, Records of the
United States Senate.
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Petition from John W.
Thompson, praying for
a bill giving all
federal workers pay on
holidays, February 7,
1878, RG 46, Records
of the United States
Senate. In addition to
employees at the Navy
Yard, Federal
employees at the
Bureau of Printing and
Engraving, and the
Government Printing
Office, were also
regularly denied pay
on holidays.
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The
U.S. National Archives
and Records
Administration
8601
Adelphi Road, College
Park, MD 20740-6001
Telephone:
1-86-NARA-NARA or
1-866-272-6272
http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/washington/ |
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Abraham
Lincoln's Birthday
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%27s_Birthday
Lincoln's Birthday is a legal holiday in
some U.S. states including California,
Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey,
New York, and Indiana. It is observed
on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's
birth on February 12, 1809.
The earliest known observance of Lincoln's
birthday occurred in Buffalo, New York, in
1874. Julius Francis (d. 1881), a Buffalo
druggist, made it his life's mission to
honor the slain president. He repeatedly
petitioned Congress to establish Lincoln's
birthday as a legal holiday.
The day is marked by traditional
wreath-laying ceremonies at Abraham Lincoln
Birthplace National Historic Site in
Hodgenville, Kentucky, and at the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington, DC. The latter has
been the site of a ceremony ever since the
Memorial was dedicated. Since that event in
1922, observances continue to be organized
by the Lincoln Birthday National
Commemorative Committee and by the Military
Order of the Loyal Legion of the United
States (MOLLUS). A wreath is laid on behalf
of the President of the United States, a
custom also carried out at the grave sites
of all US presidents on their birthdays.
Lincoln's tomb is in Springfield, Illinois.
On February 12, 2009, the annual
wreath-laying ceremony at the Lincoln
Memorial commemorated Lincoln's 200th
birthday in grand fashion. An extended
ceremony, organized by the Abraham Lincoln
Bicentennial Commission (ALBC) and with help
from MOLLUS, featured musical performances
and the U.S. Marine Corps. Band. The morning
celebration also featured remarks by Sen.
Dick Durbin; Lincoln scholar and ALBC
Co-Chair Harold Holzer; recently retired
Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice –
and ALBC Commissioner – Frank J. Williams;
and author Nikki Giovanni reciting her
newest work, which was written especially
for the Bicentennial.
As part of Lincoln's birthday bicentennial,
the U.S. Mint released four new pennies. The
commemorative coins have new designs on the
reverse showing stages of his life. The
first went into circulation on February 12,
2009. The standard portrait of Lincoln's
head remains on the front. The new designs
include a log cabin representing his
birthplace, Lincoln as a young man reading
while sitting on a log that he was taking a
break from splitting, Lincoln as a state
legislator in front of the Illinois capitol,
and the partially built dome of the U.S.
Capitol.
Many states that had formerly observed
Lincoln's birthday have created a joint
holiday to honor both Lincoln and George
Washington, sometimes calling it
"Presidents Day". It coincides
with the Federal holiday officially
designated "Washington's
Birthday", observed on the third Monday
of February. There has never been an annual
Federal holiday honoring Lincoln. |
SADLY
Today, the February holiday has become
well-known for being a day in which many
stores, especially car dealers, hold
sales. Until the late 1980s, corporate
businesses generally closed on this day,
similar to present corporate practices on Memorial
Day or Christmas
Day. With the late 1980s
advertising push to rename the holiday,
more and more businesses are staying open
on the holiday each year, and, as on Veterans
Day and Columbus
Day, most delivery services outside
of the U.S.
Postal Service now offer regular
service on the day as well. Some public
transit systems have also gone to regular
schedules on the day. Many colleges and
universities hold regular classes and
operations on Presidents Day.
Various
theories exist for this, one accepted
reason being to make up for the growing
trend of corporations to close in
observance of the Birthday
of Martin Luther King, Jr. However,
when reviewing the Uniform Monday Holiday
Bill debate of 1968 in the Congressional
Record, one notes that supporters of the
Bill were intent on moving federal
holidays to Mondays to promote business.
Over time, as with many federal holidays,
few Americans actually celebrate
Washington's Birthday, and it is mainly
known as a day off from work or school,
although many non-governmental workers do
not take the day off.
Consequently, some schools, which used to
close for a single day for both Lincoln's
and Washington's birthday, now often close
for the entire week (beginning with the
Monday holiday) as a "mid-winter
recess".
Courtesy
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington's_Birthday |
Spelling
Lesson
Because Presidents' Day is not the
official name of the federal holiday,
there is variation in how it is rendered.
Both Presidents' Day and Presidents' Day
are today common, and both are considered
correct by dictionaries and usage manuals.
Presidents' Day was once the predominant
style, and it is still favored by the
majority of significant
authorities—notably, The
Chicago Manual of Style
(followed by most book publishers and some
magazines), The
American Heritage Dictionary of the
English Language,
Webster's
Third International Dictionary,
and Garner's
Modern American Usage.
In recent years, as the use of attributive
nouns (nouns acting as modifiers) has
become more widespread, the popularity of
Presidents Day has increased.
This style is favored by the Associated
Press Stylebook
(followed by most newspapers and some
magazines) and the Writer's Digest Grammar
Desk Reference (ISBN
978-1582973357).
Courtesy
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington's_Birthday |
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