Presidents' Day 2012
Presidents' Day, originally known as Washington's Birthday, falls on the third Monday of February. This year Presidents' Day falls on February 20, 2012.
History
Titled Washington's Birthday, a federal holiday honoring George Washington was originally implemented by an Act of Congress in 1879 for government offices in the District of Columbia (20 Stat. 277) and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices (23 Stat. 516). As the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was celebrated on Washington's actual birthday, February 22. On January 1, 1971, the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This date places it between February 15 and 21, which makes the name "Washington's Birthday" in some sense a misnomer, since it always falls between Washington's Old Style birthday, February 11, and New Style February 22.
The first attempt to create a Presidents Day occurred in 1951 when the "President's Day National Committee" was formed by Harold Stonebridge Fischer of Compton, California, who became its National Executive Director for the next two decades. The purpose was not to honor any particular President, but to honor the office of the Presidency. It was first thought that March 4, the original inauguration day, should be deemed Presidents Day. However, the bill recognizing the March 4th date was stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee (which had authority over national holidays). That committee felt that, because of its proximity to Lincoln's and Washington Birthdays, three holidays so close together would be unduly burdensome. During this time, however, the Governors of a majority of the individual states issued proclamations declaring March 4 to be Presidents' Day in their respective jurisdictions.
An early draft of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act would have renamed the holiday to "Presidents' Day" to honor the birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln, which would explain why the chosen date falls between the two, but this proposal failed in committee and the bill as voted on and signed into law on 28 June 1968, kept the name Washington's Birthday.
By the mid-1980s, with a push from advertisers, the term "Presidents' Day" began its public appearance. Although Lincoln's birthday, February 12, was never a federal holiday, approximately a dozen state governments have officially renamed their Washington's Birthday observances as "Presidents' Day", "Washington and Lincoln Day", or other such designations. However, "Presidents' Day" is not always an all-inclusive term.
In Massachusetts, the state officially celebrates "Washington's Birthday" on the same day as the Federal holiday. State law also directs the governor to issue an annual "Presidents Day" proclamation on May 29 honoring the presidents with Massachusetts roots: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge, and John F. Kennedy.
Alabama uniquely observes the day as "Washington and Jefferson Day", even though Thomas Jefferson's birthday is in April.In Connecticut, Missouri and Illinois, while Washington's Birthday is a federal holiday, Abraham Lincoln's birthday is still a state holiday, falling on February 12 regardless of the day of the week. In Washington's home state of Virginia, the holiday is legally known as "George Washington Day."
Desirous of a mid-winter long weekend, six Canadian provinces instituted a holiday which coincides with Washington's Birthday: In Alberta, British Columbia (starting in 2013), Saskatchewan and Ontario, it is Family Day; in Manitoba, Louis Riel Day; and Islander Day in Prince Edward Island. The holidays do not honor anniversaries, and the date was selected, in part, to coincide with the U.S. holiday, since the economic and social lives of both countries are tightly intertwined.
Observance and traditions
Today, the February holiday has become well known for being a day in which many stores, especially car dealers, hold sales. Until the late 1980s, corporate businesses generally closed on this day, similar to present corporate practices on Memorial Day or Christmas Day. With the late 1980s advertising push to rename the holiday, more and more businesses are staying open on the holiday each year, and, as on Veterans Day and Columbus Day, most delivery services outside of the U.S. Postal Service now offer regular service on the day as well. Some public transit systems have also gone to regular schedules on the day. Many colleges and universities hold regular classes and operations on Presidents Day. Various theories exist for this, one accepted reason being to make up for the growing trend of corporations to close in observance of the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. However, when reviewing the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill debate of 1968 in the Congressional Record, one notes that supporters of the Bill were intent on moving federal holidays to Mondays to promote business.
President's Day sales 2012
It's seemingly an annual tradition - the annual holiday to honor our nation's greatest leaders has also become a chance to get some of the best shopping deals of the year. The discounts found at retailers nationwide for this year's President's Day are pretty deep and rival some other days of the year known to be full of deals, including Black Friday.
Behind only Labor Day and its 48 percent average discounts on retail items, President's Day ranks second when it comes to finding great bargains. And, much like on days like Cyber Monday, you may not even have to leave your home to find some good deals. Plenty of deals this year could be found online.
Best Buy, for instance, is having a two-day sale. Office Depot and Dell are offering big incentives on computers. Even Toys 'R Us is getting in on the act, holding a four-day sale on the stuff your kids will love."My wife is pretty much a computer buff, so I think she finds a lot of deals on the computer," shopper Jermaine Cooper said.
Big ticket items like televisions, computers and gaming consoles were on the lists of many people who talked to ABC7's Natasha Barrett.