Presidents Day is celebrated to honor the U.S. presidency, especially George Washington, and over time it has grown into a day that also recognizes Abraham Lincoln and, more broadly, all American presidents.

Quick Scoop: Why is Presidents Day celebrated?

  • It began as a celebration of George Washington’s birthday on February 22, recognizing his role as the first U.S. president and a key leader in the American Revolution.
  • In 1879, Washington’s Birthday became an official federal holiday, originally observed on his actual birthdate.
  • In 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved the observance to the third Monday in February to create three-day weekends for workers and simplify the federal holiday calendar.
  • Because Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is also in February (February 12), public sentiment and state practices gradually turned the day into “Presidents Day” that honors both Washington and Lincoln.
  • Today, while the official federal name is still “Washington’s Birthday,” many states and Americans treat it as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents, past and present.

In simple terms, Presidents Day exists to remember the people who have held the highest office in the United States and the history, debates, and changes that came with their leadership.

A bit of story: from one president to many

After George Washington died in 1799, Americans began informally marking his birthday as a way to honor the “indispensable” figure of the early republic.

Decades later, Congress made his birthday a national holiday, reinforcing the idea that the new nation owed a special debt to its first president.

In the 1960s, lawmakers decided some federal holidays should always fall on Mondays, which turned Washington’s Birthday into a movable date and put it between Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays.

At the same time, advertisers, states, and schools increasingly started calling it “Presidents Day,” broadening the focus from one great man to the whole institution of the presidency and the many people who have held the office.

How it’s marked today

  • Observed on the third Monday in February across the United States.
  • Federal offices, banks, and many schools close for the day.
  • Civics lessons, museum events, and historical programs highlight Washington, Lincoln, and other presidents.
  • It has also become famous for major retail sales and long-weekend travel, a side effect of the three-day weekend structure.

Why it still matters now

In the 2020s, Presidents Day often sparks discussions about how different presidents handled crises like wars, economic shocks, and political division, and what “good leadership” really looks like.

It’s also a reminder that the presidency is meant to be limited by law and balanced by other branches of government, not a king-like position—an idea that goes right back to Washington and the framers of the Constitution.

TL;DR: Presidents Day is celebrated as a federal holiday (officially “Washington’s Birthday”) to honor George Washington and, over time, Abraham Lincoln and all U.S. presidents, while also giving Americans a mid-February long weekend that has become associated with sales and civic reflection.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.