It's George Washington's Birthday. Why don't we have day off?
Monday is George Washington鈥檚 birthday, and there are out there honoring the Father of Our Country on his special day. Did you know he introduced the mule to America? We didn鈥檛 either. Also, that famous anecdote of him chopping down a , 鈥淚 cannot tell a lie,鈥� yada yada? It might actually be true! Or at least its author had a larger point to make than 鈥渢ruth is good鈥� 鈥� he was emphasizing how Washington鈥檚 character was shaped by his father鈥檚 top-notch parenting skills.
As president, Washington knew his every move would set a precedent for the nascent United States, so he was under a lot of pressure every day in every way. That鈥檚 a big reason why historians routinely rate him as the first or second greatest of all US chief executives.
You鈥檇 think someone that important would have a holiday in his honor. Kids in America used to get Feb. 22 off as a matter of routine. Why did that stop? It was a great way to teach them about the man鈥檚 many virtues, at RealClearPolitics. He should have his own special day of honor. He shouldn鈥檛 be lumped in with Franklin Pierce, et al., in a vague 鈥淧residents Day鈥� holiday.
鈥淭he Father of the Country no longer receives the respect and honor he deserves,鈥� Mr. Benedetto writes.
We could not agree more. But here鈥檚 the problem: George Washington鈥檚 Birthday, capital 鈥淏,鈥� is already a holiday. He has the day. It鈥檚 just ignored as such by most Americans. The fault is not in his stars. It is in ours.
That is because there is no 鈥�Presidents Day鈥� federal holiday. The day celebrated as a Monday holiday earlier in February is, in fact, 鈥淲ashington鈥檚 Birthday鈥� in US law.
Don鈥檛 believe us? Look at the US Office of Personnel Management鈥檚 list of . It lists Feb. 15 as 鈥淲ashington鈥檚 Birthday,鈥� with a little explanation that can be summed up as, 鈥測ou can call it what you want, but this is what it is in federal law.鈥�
Long story short: When Congress created more three-day holidays in the late 1960s, some lawmakers thought it would be a good idea to name the mid-February holiday 鈥淧residents Day鈥� to get Abraham Lincoln into the mix. But Virginia lawmakers balked. They wanted GW to remain primus inter pares, or something like that. They blocked the move and it remains Washington鈥檚 Birthday to this day.
But the holiday鈥檚 move proved fateful. Separated from Washington鈥檚 actual Feb. 22 birthday, it quickly became a more generic, denatured holiday; a celebration of auto salesmen in Lincoln hats on stilts.
It could be revived, though. What about this 鈥� a modern musical, maybe even hip-hop style, about the foundingest father of all? "Hamilton" is a huge hit. Wouldn鈥檛 "Washington" be even better?
