3 CommentsWhen I was a kid, we had two days off school to celebrate our founding fathers. The first was February 12th for Abraham Lincoln and the second was February 22nd for George Washington. We always did projects at school to honor and celebrate all the wonderful things these gentlemen did for our country. I do wonder if they are still honored in the same way in elementary schools or have we lost respect for authority figures, especially presidents? If we start talking about politics or religion my blog party will be over, so I will stop that exploration right here.
In any event, it did not matter what day of the week the president’s birthdays fell on. We could have had a Thursday or a Monday off school and it was always welcomed. Much has changed since then. There are labor laws and acts of convenience. So now, we no longer pay homage to our founding fathers, but instead have decided to honor ALL the presidents who followed in their footsteps, whether we liked them or not. This does sound so PC—very 21st century—not to play favorites. We would not want to offend those either alive or dead. So be it. With this being an election year, we are getting our fair share of presidential talk.
In today’s Los Angeles Times, there was an article called, “No lie: It’s Washington’s Birthday, not Presidents Day.” Journalist Steve Padilla says, “Like George Washington, we cannot tell a lie, so we must share a brutal truth. This is not Presidents Day. Nor is it a national holiday designed to honor Abraham Lincoln along with Washington.” Padilla poses the question that I often asked, but have just heard speculation as to the answer, “Why is today called President’s Day?” Padilla points to a simple answer—“confusion,” but in reality, legislation was passed in 1971 called, The Monday Holiday Act, moving some, but not all, holidays to fall on a Monday. This legislation applies to Memorial Day, President’s Day and Veteran’s Day. My question is why was Christmas not changed to always fall on a Monday? After all, it is in celebration of someone’s birthday? Understandably New Years’ cannot be changed (Labor & Memorial Day were chosen as Monday holidays, not changed to Monday holidays!)
One of the comments to Padilla’s article did make me chuckle, and my favorite humor writers reading this column (you know who you are), will find this amusing: The writer said, “We have denigrated the memory of 2 of our best Presidents to make a day to sell bed sheets and pillowcases at the convenience of shoppers and merchants.” I find this point to be both sad and true, and more importantly, it is a valid point, but I wonder where this commenter was when the laws were being discussed.
I would be curious to hear from my readers about their thoughts on changing holidays.Do tell!
Have a nice day, whether you were home relaxing, traveling, working, or taking advantage of all the shopping deals!
Cheers,
Diana
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I was minding my own business when Ernie Witham called to tell me that you metioned him in your blog!
As for the holidays, I’m a traditionalist and I don’t want them changed for convenience. Turn everything back to the way it was thirty years ago–including my waistline.
The cynic in me knows that Hallmark Cards and three day weekends control our national holidays. Putting a name on them seems more an act of convenience rather than relevance. Being self-employed, I follow the credo, if UPS works, I work.
Lincoln, Washington, Presidents whatever, I had to work. We are a small company so we have limited paid holidays. What I do celebrate now is Furlough Fridays — every other Friday off without pay. I think this is named for Senator Furlough, who only works a few days per month and has only cast one vote in this millenium.