President's Day in Alabama isn't Washington/Lincoln, it's Washington/Jefferson
America honors its first chief executive during the annual President's Day holiday. And while the day remains mainly one to honor George Washington, it has come to represent a time to celebrate all U.S. leaders.
It turns out, however, that who exactly is honored on the day can vary from state to state and, wouldn't you know it, in Alabama, we've chosen to march to the beat of our own Southern-sounding drum.
First, a bit of history...
The President's Day holiday traces its roots to 1800 when it was set aside to honor Washington, who had died the previous year. Back then, it was celebrated on Feb. 22, the day of Washington's actual birth. It remained an unofficial holiday until the late 1870s when it became a federal holiday. It originally was celebrated only in the District of Columbia, but, in 1885, was expanded to the entire country.
The day was originally designed to honor Washington alone. It would remain the only holiday honoring an individual until the establishment of the Martin Luther King holiday in 1983.
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http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/02/no_union_leaders_honored_here.html
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