“Nothing is a greater stranger to my breast, or a sin that my soul more abhors, than that black and detestable one, ingratitude.”

- George Washington 

The earliest authenticated portrait of George Washington, 1772

Peter Roff wrote a brief opinion piece today on Presidents’ Day. He traces the slide from great reverence for the Father of Our Country to just lumping his celebration in with the other Presidents and sticking it on some Monday. He points out, “after several decades of increasing political correctness, the sense of reverence we once felt for our nation’s founders has diminished to the point where some people find the mere idea of it laughable.”

The National Archives also provide some interesting tidbits. It explains, “George Washington was born in Virginia on February 11, 1731, according to the then-used Julian calendar. In 1752, however, Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, which placed Washington’s birth on February 22, 1732.” Washington’s birthday was long celebrated on February 22nd but became a legal holiday until January 31, 1879 . It was not until  in 1968 Congress that passed the Monday Holiday Law in order to “provide uniform annual observances of certain legal public holidays on Mondays” with the stated goal of ”bringing substantial benefits to both the spiritual and economic life of the Nation.” Strangely enough, since Washington’s birthday was to be observed on the third Monday in February, it ensured that the holiday would never fall on his actual birthday. This year (the day before Washington’s birthday) is as close as we can get! The article concludes by pointing out “[c]ontrary to popular belief, neither Congress nor the President has ever stipulated that the name of the holiday observed as Washington’s Birthday be changed to “President’s Day.”

Washington deserves our utmost respect and we should take a day a year to remember his great legacy. In fact, maybe we should shoot for a four-day weekend this year.