Today's federal holiday is Washington's Birthday

[RB TexLa]

The United States government has no holiday named presidents day.



Other Interesting Facts and Trivia:

- Washington was the only president to be elected unanimously.
- Washington became known as "the father of his country."
- Washington was the only president inaugurated in 2 cities - New York and Philadelphia.
- Washington was the only president that did not live in the White House. He was involved in the planning of the Capitol.
- Washington did his own bookkeeping and recorded every penny of expense or profit. His ledgers still exist today.
- There were 13 stars on the United States flag when Washington became President in 1789.
- Five states were added to the Union during Washington's presidency - North Carolina (1789), Rhode Island (1790), Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792), and Tennessee (1796).
- By the time Washington became president, he had only one real tooth left. He had many sets of false teeth

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/presidents-day/george-washington/facts.html

[Seeking Serenity]

1. Happy birthday, Mr. President!

I still say Washington is the standard by which all other presidents should be measured. If for no other reason than, in a time of monarchies and the divine right of kings and the like, Washington set the example of voluntarily giving up power, of doing his duty and then retiring to be a private citizen. Washington was all but offered a crown and he refused such a thing.

Best president in my book.

[annabanana]

2. I'm pretty sure his actual birthday is the 22nd...

We used to get the 12 & the 22nd off from school when I was a kid.

[Xipe Totec]

3. On the Julian or Gregorian calendar?

When Washington was born on Pope Creek’s Farm in Westmoreland County, Virginia, it was February 11, 1731! This can be blamed on another inaccurate calendar, the Julian Calendar, which was still used by the British Empire until 1752. Although the Gregorian Calendar was utilized by most of the Catholic world from the date of the papal bull of Pope Gregory XIII which was decreed on February 24, 1582, the British didn’t weren’t part of the Roman Catholic realm. Through the Calendar Act of 1750, the British finally adopted the Gregorian calendar, but it became confusing for all of the English subjects in the realm born after that year.

In 1752, good old George Washington’s birthday under the British Empire’s newly adopted Gregorian Calendar, became February 22, 1732. Not to be outdone, the U.S. Congress decided to add to the calendar confusion, and on January 1, 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect and transformed several traditional holidays celebrated throughout the year to Monday dates, This included the remembrance of Washington’s Birthday. So, contrary to popular perception, this legislation did not establish a “Presidents Day” to combine Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthday parties.

Read more: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/history-purpose/2013/feb/17/presidents-day-or-george-washingtons-birthday/