n 1879, Congress made George Washington's birthday, February 22, a federal holiday as a way to honor our first president. This was the first federal holiday to celebrate an American citizen. The first try at making a Presidents Day holiday was in 1951. The President's Day National Committee wanted to make March 4th Presidents Day because March 4th was the first presidential inauguration. It was too close to Washington and Lincoln's birthday, so it did not pass. Then on January 1,1971, Washington's holiday was changed to the 3rd Monday in February. This put the holiday land between February 15th and February 21st, missing Washington's birthday. By the mid-1980s, advertisers succeeded in renaming Washington's birthday as Presidents Day
Presidents Day
