There is no US Presidents Day. Why does the charade continue?
There are some great Presidents Day stories out there Monday morning. on the myths and secrets of presidential monuments: Did you know there鈥檚 Civil War-era graffiti at the Washington Monument? the US counties named for presidents, finding that a shocking number 鈥� OK, more than 10 鈥� are named for James Polk.
Research organizations are taking a somewhat more abstract approach. Pew Research, in honor of Presidents Day, of how presidents have adopted and used the new media of their day, from Abe Lincoln鈥檚 use of the telegraph to Barack Obama鈥檚 promotion of the "selfie stick." The of political scientists that rates the presidents in order of perceived greatness. We won鈥檛 spoil it by telling you where Mr. Obama ranks, but we鈥檒l give you a hint: 18th.
OK, we did spoil it.
Like we said, this all great, or at least interesting stuff. Too bad it鈥檚 based on a false premise. There is no federal Presidents Day. It鈥檚 a myth. The United States as a whole does not have such a holiday.
We鈥檝e been ripping the lid off this scandal for years. Shockingly, the charade continues.
There is a federal holiday Monday, but it鈥檚 called 鈥淲ashington鈥檚 Birthday.鈥� It鈥檚 right there in the of federal days off for 2015. If you click through and look, you鈥檒l notice it has an asterisk, which leads to a note of explanation.
鈥淭his holiday is designated as 鈥榃ashington鈥檚 Birthday' in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that specifies holidays for Federal employees,鈥� writes OPM. 鈥淭hough other institutions such as state and local governments and private businesses may use other names, it is our policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law.鈥�
Section 6103(a) of Title 5 of the US Code! That鈥檚 almost as good as being in the Constitution, right?
How did things get this way? Long story short: Washington鈥檚 Birthday has been a US holiday since 1886. In the late 1960s, Congress embarked on a renovation of US holidays to make three-day weekends, and Washington鈥檚 Birthday got thrown into the mix. Some members of the Illinois congressional delegation thought it would be a great idea to expand the day to honor Lincoln, and so they suggested the 鈥淧residents Day鈥� business. But their Virginia counterparts wanted to protect the singularity of the day for the Father of Our Country. In the end, they prevailed. It鈥檚 a lot easier to block change in Congress than it is to bring change about.
States and localities do what they want, and some have voted to make this 鈥淧residents Day鈥� in their environs. Others have not.
Some states always vote to recognize favorite-son presidents. There鈥檚 a Lyndon Baines Johnson Day in Texas. It鈥檚 Aug. 27, LBJ鈥檚 actual birthday.
Mattress retailers and used-car sales lots tend to make this Presidents Day in their ads, wherever they鈥檙e located, and they鈥檙e the institutions we blame for making this a national holiday that really isn鈥檛. Why 鈥淧residents Day Sales鈥� instead of 鈥淕eorge Washington鈥檚 Birthday Sales鈥�? Well, the former is shorter and punchier, for one thing. Also, you can use drawings of Lincoln in your ad. The beard and stovepipe hat are a good counterbalance to Washington鈥檚 breeches and wig.
Other than that, we have no idea.
