Happy Presidents Day, everything’s closed!
Presidents Day, or Washington’s Birthday as it was known until Abe Lincoln got all up in his grill, always falls on the third Monday in February.
Washington had the day all to himself up until 1951, when some dude decided that Lincoln’s February 12th birthday needed to be shoehorned in there, and somewhere along the way you got stuck with your kids home all week:
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. Later on, the Washington’s Birthday holiday would become known as Presidents Day.
So what’s closed? Pretty much everything. Government operations, fresh off a near week of snow days, have paid days off for the most part today. So forget sorting out anything federal today. You’re not getting mail, either, not even if you go to the post office itself, as they’re all sitting home watching Judge Joe Brown and eating Cheetos. Banks are for the most part closed, though a few may be open and you’d have to make some phone calls, which would be a total pain in the ass.
So to recap, schools, the government, banks and the mail are all a non-starter on this, President’s Day 2010. If you’re bored, you might want to try the roller rink.
[Image: Pundit Kitchen]
