Happy Abraham Lincoln's Birthday! Now get back to work.
Happy Abraham Lincoln鈥檚 Birthday! Now get back to work.
No, it鈥檚 not a holiday. At least it鈥檚 not a holiday for the vast majority of Americans. A few states celebrate Feb. 12 as a special day of recognition (we鈥檙e looking at you, Illinois). But the rest trudge on despite the fact that Friday is the birthday of maybe the greatest president ever.
Lincoln鈥檚 Birthday is not now and never has been a federal holiday. Nor has it been rolled into a national Presidents鈥� Day celebration later in the month. Why is that?
Blame sectionalism and the impact of the Civil War.
Remember that for decades following the Civil War, the North and South remained divided about how and when to remember the conflict and the fallen. At first, the regions observed decoration days held on different dates, when flowers were placed on graves and memorials. It took the national trauma of World War I to meld these into a unitary Memorial Day.
In that context, it鈥檚 not surprising that after Lincoln鈥檚 assassination, there wasn鈥檛 a national movement to recognize his birthday. In the North, some tried: Julius Francis, a shopkeeper from Buffalo, N.Y., in the late 19th century made it his life鈥檚 work to promote public remembrance of the 16th president.
A few states grasped that flag. By 1890 ten, including Francis鈥檚 native New York, had made Lincoln鈥檚 Birthday a state holiday. But Congress did not. Memories of the Civil War were still strong.
Fast-forward to 1971. Congress was considering a wholesale shuffle of US holidays to provide more three-day weekends. (It is a myth this was due to lobbying from mattress stores eager to promote patriotic Blowout Sales.)
Washington鈥檚 Birthday got thrown into the mix. It had been a federal holiday since 1886. Why not combine it with Lincoln鈥檚 Birthday and name it 鈥淧residents鈥� Day鈥�? That would make it vague enough to move around without regard to any chief executive鈥檚 actual birth date. And Lincoln would finally get his due.
Illinois and some other Northern states thought this was a great idea. Virginia did not. The Old Dominion wanted to protect Washington鈥檚 singularity. Virginian lawmakers blocked the move 鈥� meaning the three-day federal holiday celebrated in February is officially George Washington鈥檚 Birthday.
There is no US Presidents鈥�听顿补测. We don鈥檛 care what the guy on red-white-and-blue stilts is saying on QVC. Some states call it that, but they can鈥檛 even agree on the apostrophe 鈥� is it President鈥檚, or Presidents鈥�, or Presidents? Nobody knows.
Thus Lincoln鈥檚 Birthday remains un-federal. Some states continue to recognize it, but others have rolled back their Feb. 12 holiday, given the proximity to Washington鈥檚 Birthday and Martin Luther King Day.
This doesn鈥檛 mean we can鈥檛 hold the Great Emancipator in our hearts on the day he came into this life, 207 years ago. But keep looking at that spreadsheet while you鈥檙e doing it.
