by Eric Cobb
So as we all know February is right around the corner and, as far as Illinois is concerned, so are several important holidays that are enough to keep you out of school by keeping you in the mall.
However, it’s obvious that we’re all going to be so sad about missing school and spending a day not learning (yeah right!), so why not get informed on the history of one of Illinois’ favorite federal holidays?
As citizens of Illinois, the majority of us think of President’s Day as a week of stores selling items dirt cheap and everyone partying; just like the country’s founders would have wanted! Would you think I’m lying if I told you that President’s Day actually isn’t even the name of any holiday in the world? Believe it or not it’s true, the official name of the holiday that we celebrate as President’s day is ‘Washington’s birthday.’ The holiday Washington’s Birthday is celebrated on the third Monday of every February. It’s actually pretty funny because George Washington was born on February 22nd, and Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12th while the actual holiday can take place on any day between February 15th-21st meaning it narrowly misses the birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln and never falls on the birthday of any president!
Don’t worry though we use logic in Illinois and opt to celebrate Lincoln’s actual birthday on February 12th and get to miss a day of school but because of that we don’t get to miss school on Washington’s Birthday but we still get to take advantage of all the great sales!
Have fun digesting that food for thought!