It’s the 3^rd Monday in February and depending on where you live you may or may not be celebrating a holiday today.  While federal government offices close and the majority of state offices do so as well, many businesses make the most of the holiday by offering patriotic-themed sales. Officially, the United States federal government is celebrating Washington’s Birthday, not Presidents’ Day. Washington’s Birthday was originally celebrated on February 22^nd, but in 1968 Congress moved the holiday to the 3^rd Monday in February, and this created a lot of debate across our great land.  There was a proposal at one time to change the observance from Washington’s Birthday to Presidents’ Day in order to celebrate President Lincoln as well; however this has never come to pass.

State governments set their own holidays, only some of which are the same as federal holidays. Since 1968, most states have opted to observe some form of presidential holiday on this 3^rd Monday in February, but exactly what is celebrated varies from state to state. Some celebrate Washington’s Birthday, some celebrate both Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays, while the majority simply celebrate Presidents’ Day (though even the placement of the possessive apostrophe varies). Here’s how things stack up across the land*:

• States observing some form of Washington, Lincoln or Presidents’ Day = 41
• States observing a form of this holiday on the 3^rd Monday of February = 38**
• States observing Washington’s Birthday only = 9
• States observing Presidents’ Day only = 24
• States not observing any form of this holiday at any time during the year = 9