ObservanceMonday, February 15, 2027
Presidents' Day
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The federal holiday on the third Monday in February is, in law, Washington's Birthday. Congress has never renamed it: "Presidents' Day" was proposed in 1951, got nowhere officially, and became the common name three decades later through holiday sales advertising. The holiday also cannot land on Washington's birthday — the third Monday in February falls between the 15th and the 21st, and he was born on the 22nd.
History
February 22 became a holiday for federal employees in the District of Columbia by an act of January 31, 1879. That law did not require that anyone be paid for the day off; an 1885 act fixed that, requiring pay for federal holidays and extending them to federal employees everywhere rather than only those near the capital.
The date moved in 1968. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act — Public Law 90-363, enacted June 28, 1968 and effective January 1, 1971 — reorganized the federal calendar around three-day weekends. It shifted Washington's Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday in February, moved Memorial Day from May 30 to the last Monday in May, moved Veterans Day from November 11 to the fourth Monday in October, and added Columbus Day on the second Monday in October. Veterans Day was returned to November 11 by a 1975 law. Washington's Birthday was not moved back, and has not fallen on February 22 since.
The name never changed, and the National Archives is blunt about it: neither Congress nor any president has ever stipulated that the holiday be called President's Day. The name was floated in 1951 and spread through retail advertising in the 1980s. The statute, 5 U.S.C. 6103, still reads "Washington's Birthday," and the Office of Personnel Management says the same when asked directly. The gap between the legal name and the one on the mattress circular is the most interesting thing about this holiday.
Washington was born on February 22, 1732 by the Gregorian calendar. Britain and its colonies did not adopt that calendar until 1752; under the Julian calendar in use when he was born, the date was February 11.
Timeline
- February 22, 1732 — George Washington is born, by the Gregorian calendar; under the Julian calendar then in use in the British colonies the date was February 11.
- January 31, 1879 — Congress adds February 22 to the holidays observed by federal employees in the District of Columbia. The act does not require that they be paid for it.
- 1885 — Congress requires pay for federal holidays and extends them to all federal employees, not only those near Washington.
- 1951 — The name "Presidents' Day" is proposed. The federal government never adopts it.
- June 28, 1968 — The Uniform Monday Holiday Act (Pub. L. 90-363) moves Washington's Birthday to the third Monday in February, along with Memorial Day and Veterans Day, and adds Columbus Day. It takes effect January 1, 1971.
- September 18, 1975 — Pub. L. 94-97 returns Veterans Day to November 11. Washington's Birthday stays on its Monday.
How to observe
Read Washington's Farewell Address, or at least the passages on faction and foreign entanglement. The Senate still has one of its own members read all 7,641 words aloud in the chamber each year around the holiday, alternating between the parties, and has done so every year since 1896 — the tradition traces to a single reading on February 22, 1862, revived in 1888. The reader then signs a leather-bound notebook kept by the Secretary of the Senate and adds a few remarks, which makes the book a one-senator-a-year commentary on American politics going back to 1900.
Go to Mount Vernon. Washington's estate in Virginia admits visitors free on the holiday and treats it as an actual birthday: a wreath-laying at his tomb, cannon firings by the Presidential Salute Battery, fife and drum, a Revolutionary War encampment on the field, and an open house at the research library. Mansion tours are timed and first come, first served, with waits of two to three hours — check the year's schedule before driving out.
Frequently asked questions
Is the holiday officially called Presidents' Day?
No. The federal holiday is "Washington's Birthday" in 5 U.S.C. 6103, and the Office of Personnel Management gives that as the official name. The National Archives notes that neither Congress nor any president has ever stipulated the name "President's Day." It became the common name through holiday sales advertising in the 1980s, after being proposed and rejected in 1951.
Can the holiday fall on Washington's actual birthday?
No. The third Monday in February can only fall between February 15 and February 21. February 22 is outside that range, so since the Monday rule took effect in 1971 the holiday has never landed on the date it was created to mark.
Why is it on a Monday?
The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, effective January 1, 1971, moved several federal holidays to Mondays to create three-day weekends. Washington's Birthday was one of four holidays it changed.
Does the federal holiday honor all the presidents?
Not in law. 5 U.S.C. 6103 names Washington's Birthday and nobody else. The broader meaning came from popular and commercial use rather than from Congress, and states are free to name and observe their own February holidays differently.
Is it a federal holiday?
Yes — one of the eleven legal public holidays listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103. Federal offices, banks and post offices close on the third Monday in February.
When is Presidents' Day?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | February 15 | Monday |
| 2028 | February 21 | Monday |
| 2029 | February 19 | Monday |
| 2030 | February 18 | Monday |
| 2031 | February 17 | Monday |
Sources
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, What is the official name for the holiday on the third Monday in February? — https://www.opm.gov/frequently-asked-questions/pay-and-leave-faq/leave-policy/what-is-the-official-name-for-the-holiday-on-the-third-monday-in-february/ → the official federal name "Washington's Birthday" and its basis in 5 U.S.C. 6103.
- National Archives, George Washington's Birthday — https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/washington → the act of January 31, 1879 adding February 22 for federal employees in the District of Columbia without requiring pay; the 1885 act requiring pay and extending federal holidays to all federal employees; the 1968 Monday Holiday Law moving the observance from February 22 to the third Monday in February; and that the holiday was never officially renamed, with neither Congress nor any president stipulating "President's Day."
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, 5 U.S.C. 6103 (2024 edition) — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title5/html/USCODE-2024-title5-partIII-subpartE-chap61-subchapI-sec6103.htm → "Washington's Birthday" on the third Monday in February; the list of eleven federal holidays; the amendment notes for Pub. L. 90-363 of June 28, 1968 (the four holidays it changed and its January 1, 1971 effective date) and for Pub. L. 94-97 of September 18, 1975 returning Veterans Day to November 11.
- Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, George Washington's Birthday or Presidents Day? — https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/facts/the-truth-about-presidents-day → the 1951 proposal of the name "Presidents' Day" and the government never adopting it; the name's spread through holiday sales advertising in the 1980s; the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed June 28, 1968 and taking effect in 1971.
- National Park Service, George Washington (George Washington Birthplace National Monument) — https://www.nps.gov/gewa/learn/historyculture/george-washington.htm → his birth on February 22, 1732 by the Gregorian calendar; Britain and its colonies adopting that calendar only in 1752; the Julian-calendar date of February 11.
- U.S. Senate, Washington's Farewell Address — https://www.senate.gov/about/traditions-symbols/washingtons-farewell-address.htm → the first Senate reading on February 22, 1862 by Secretary of the Senate John W. Forney; the 1888 revival; the unbroken annual reading since 1896; the 7,641-word length; the alternation between parties; and the leather-bound notebook kept by the Secretary of the Senate, first signed in 1900.
- Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, Washington's Birthday Celebration — https://www.mountvernon.org/plan-your-visit/calendar/events/washingtons-birthday-celebration/ → free admission on the holiday; the wreath-laying at Washington's tomb, Presidential Salute Battery cannon firings, Fife and Drum performance, Revolutionary War encampment, and library open house; timed first-come mansion tours with waits of two to three hours.
Note on sourcing: the range February 15 to February 21 for the third Monday in February is arithmetic from the statutory rule, not a sourced claim. The 1885 act and the 1975 Veterans Day law are given by date only, because the sources above do not supply the 1885 public law number. Mount Vernon's free-admission and program details are documented for the 2026 observance; the schedule is set each year, so it is worth checking before a trip.
Rejected as sources: nationaltoday, nationaldaycalendar, checkiday, timeanddate, and content-farm or AI-generated listicles.
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