Why the federal holiday honoring George Washington never actually falls on his birthday

Countries & Cities · Published 10 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Though widely known as Presidents' Day, the federal holiday is officially Washington's Birthday. Since the 1971 shift to the third Monday in February, the date always lands between February 15 and 21, meaning it never coincides with George Washington's actual February 22 birthday. It is a holiday of shifting names.

The federal holiday originated in 1879 to honor George Washington, the first U.S. president. For nearly a century, it was observed on his Gregorian calendar birth date of February 22. However, the 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which took effect in 1971, moved the observance to the third Monday of February to guarantee federal employees a three-day weekend. This change rendered the official name, Washington's Birthday, a technical misnomer.

The term Presidents' Day emerged from a mix of state-level initiatives and commercial influence. While an early 1951 effort to establish a national Presidents Day for March 4 failed, many states began combining Washington's holiday with commemorations for Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday falls on February 12. By the mid-1980s, retailers began aggressively marketing the period as Presidents' Day to drive sales, cementing the name in the public consciousness despite its lack of federal status.

Today, the holiday's designation varies wildly by jurisdiction. Some states officially honor Washington alone, while others recognize both Washington and Lincoln, or even include figures like Thomas Jefferson or Daisy Bates. The punctuation also remains contested: the possessive placement in 'Presidents' Day' versus 'President's Day' often reflects whether a state intends to honor the office collectively or a specific individual. Meanwhile, the federal government maintains the original title, even as the holiday has evolved into a cultural touchstone for everything from mattress sales to the NBA All-Star weekend.

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