Presidents ay in America - Essay Example

However, from January 1, 1971, instead of February 22, Presidents Day started to be celebrated on every third Monday of February. Since then Presidents Day never happened on Washington’s actual birthday (February 22) as the third Monday of February occurs between February 15 and 21. In this year 2011, Presidents Day was on February 21. Thus, at present Presidents day lost its significance as the actual birthday of America’s first president since it is celebrated based on the day rather than the date.

Today, people celebrate Presidents Day to mark their respect towards the Presidents of America, most significantly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. “The official US holiday is meant to honour only George Washington, but many people consider President's Day a day to honour both George Washington (born on Feb. 22, 1732) and Abraham Lincoln (born on Feb. 12, 1809)” (Activities, Worksheets and Crafts for Presidents Day).The story behind fixing the president's day as the third Monday in February is interesting.

According to the Gregorian or "New Style" calendar that is most commonly used today, George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. But according to the Julian or "Old Style" calendar that was used in England until 1752, his birth date was February 11th. Back in the 1790s, Americans were split - some celebrated his birthday on February 11th and some on February 22nd. When Abraham Lincoln became president and helped reshape our country, it was believed he, too, should have a special day of recognition.

The tricky thing was that Lincoln’s birthday fell on February 12th. Before 1968, having two presidential birthdays so close together didn't seem to bother anyone. February 22nd was observed as a federal public holiday to honor the birthday of George Washington and February 12th was observed as a public holiday to honor Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (Himiac). The confusion over the significance of Presidents Day is still prevailing in America. Some people celebrate it to honor the first president George Washington whereas some others use it to honor Abraham Lincoln.

To avoid confusion or controversy some people celebrate the entire week for Presidents Day celebration. Some American schools and colleges currently conduct regular classes even on Presidents Day. At the same time, many other schools in America have often been closed for the entire week. In other words, Presidents Day is celebrated or observed differently by the academic community. Even though Congress has made federal legislation for celebrating Presidents Day, still individual states are keeping their preferences while observing Presidents Day.

States like California, Idaho, Tennessee and Texas started to use the term "President's Day rather than Presidents’ Day. The confusion about Presidents Day helped the business community to exploit it. Business people interpreted Presidents Day differently with the help of different advertising campaigns and currently, people’s perception of President's Day has changed a lot. Instead of honouring the Presidents, current people use this occasion for shopping and enjoying. Presidents Day is currently celebrated more by the business community.

They use this occasion to boost their sales just like other significant occasions like Memorial Day, Christmas Day, Veterans Day, Columbus Day etc. Earlier most American shops remained closed 

on such occasions. Today, the business community realises the potential of holidays to boost their sales. Presidents Day is a big occasion, especially for car dealers to increase their sales. Americans normally purchase valuable things on special occasions and Presidents Day is one such occasion for them now.

To conclude, Presidents Day is one of the significant days of celebration for Americans today. It is celebrated every third Monday of February. Even though the official holiday is meant only to honour America’s first president George Washington, currently, people use this day to mark their respect to the entire presidents. Along with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln is also getting significant honour on president's days at present. The closeness of the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln motivated Americans to celebrate Presidents Day for an entire week.