From Solemn Observance to Commercial Holiday: The Evolution of Presidents Day “`

NORFOLK, Va. — Like other Founding Fathers, George Washington was hesitant about celebrating his life publicly; he saw himself as a republican leader, not a monarch.

Nevertheless, the U.S. will again commemorate its first president on Monday, 293 years after his birth.

Presidents Day’s significance has changed drastically, evolving from a largely unremarkable workday in Washington’s time to today’s consumerist extravaganza. Some historians believe the holiday has lost all meaning.

Historian Alexis Coe, author of “You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington,” reflects on Presidents Day similarly to how she views the Washington Monument in D.C.

“It’s supposed to be about Washington, but can you really point to anything that looks or sounds like him?” she noted in a 2024 interview with The Associated Press. “Jefferson and Lincoln are depicted as individuals with features and words associated with their memorials. Washington is just a massive, granite obelisk; he’s been simplified to have no distinguishing characteristics.”

Here’s how the holiday has changed:

Washington’s birthdays were sometimes celebrated

Washington was born Feb. 22, 1732, on Popes Creek Plantation near the Potomac River in Virginia.

However, using the Julian calendar then in use, his birthdate was February 11. The Gregorian calendar, adopted in 1752, added 11 days.

Regardless, Washington largely ignored his birthday, according to Mountvernon.org. Records show no celebrations at Mount Vernon, and his diary indicates he frequently worked on his birthday.

“If he had his way, he’d be at home with family,” Coe stated. “Perhaps some beloved nieces and nephews (and friend) Marquis de Lafayette would be ideal. And Martha’s cake recipe. But that’s about it.”

Washington’s birthday was sometimes commemorated by government colleagues during his presidency.

Congress took brief commemorative breaks annually during his first two terms, except for his last birthday in office, Coe noted. By then, Washington’s popularity had waned, partisanship was high, and many original cabinet members, including Thomas Jefferson, had left.

“One way to show their disdain for his Federalist policies was to continue working on his birthday,” Coe explained.

The Library of Congress mentions a celebration: French military officer, the comte de Rochambeau, held a ball for Washington’s 50th birthday in 1782.

After his death, a market for memorabilia emerged

Washington understood his inaugural role’s difference from the British crown. He didn’t desire royal-like honors, Seth Bruggeman, a Temple University history professor, told the AP last year.

However, a market for Washington memorabilia arose soon after his death in 1799 at age 67, with people acquiring pottery and etchings depicting him as a heavenly figure.

“Even then, Americans linked consumerism with patriotic remembrance,” said Bruggeman, whose books include “Here, George Washington Was Born: Memory, Material Culture, and the Public History of a National Monument.”

Official recognition through parades and festivals

Congress established a committee to arrange national “parades, orations, and festivals” for the centennial of Washington’s birth in 1832, according to the Congressional Research Service.

His birthday didn’t become a federal holiday until 1879.

The holiday’s official name is Washington’s Birthday, though it’s informally known as Presidents Day. Some argue for including President Lincoln, whose birthday is February 12.

A few states, including Illinois, observe Lincoln’s birthday as a public holiday, per the Library of Congress. Some commemorate both Lincoln and Washington on Presidents Day.

Federally, the day remains officially Washington’s Birthday.

A shift towards consumerism

By the late 1960s, Washington’s Birthday was one of nine federal holidays on specific, varying weekdays, according to a 2004 National Archives’ Prologue magazine article.

Congress moved some to Mondays, partly due to government worker absenteeism on midweek holidays. Lawmakers also noted economic benefits, such as increased retail sales and travel during three-day weekends.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act (1971) moved Presidents Day to the third Monday of February. Sales campaigns surged, historian C. L. Arbelbide wrote in Prologue.

Bruggeman suggested Washington and other Founding Fathers would be deeply concerned about the holiday’s commercialization.

“They were wary of corporations,” Bruggeman stated. “Not that they prohibited them, but they viewed corporations as potential threats to the Republic’s power.”

Coe, a New America fellow, says the day lacks recognizable traditions.

“There’s no reflection,” Coe said, adding that with today’s cynicism toward the presidency, such reflection “would be a good idea.”

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