Washington's Birthday was 8 days ago.

In 2020 Washington's Birthday was on February 17th (monday).

Presidents’ Day / Washington’s Birthday

There is one holiday in the United States with more than one name. Officially the day is called Washington’s Birthday, but it is also widely recognized as Presidents’ Day. Although this federal holiday is connected with the first president of the United States – George Washington, it is also a great occasion to honor all presidents in the history of the USA.

Washington’s Birthday is celebrated on the third Monday of February, for George Washington was born on February 22 (under the Julian calendar – February 11). An interesting fact is that different states have the right to celebrate the holiday in different extent: as Washington’s birthday, Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthday or another combination of presidents.

The holiday was implemented in 1879, but in 1885 was expanded to include all federal offices. In 1971 Washington’s Birthday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day, even though the official name change was rejected. Today it is a public holiday in most of the states, although many shops or businesses are open. Federal and state government services are closed and so are most of schools.

As nearly every holiday in the United States, this one also has some specific food tradition: a cherry pie. Various states celebrate the holiday in different ways. For example, in Alexandria, Virginia, which is Washington’s hometown, there is probably the largest Washington’s Birthday parade. At the request of citizens, it is also a tradition to read the first president’s letter called George Washington’s Farewell Address on his birthday.

Did you know?

Even though the holiday is strongly connected with George Washington’s birthday, since 1971 it is not possible for it to occur on February 22, which is actually recognized as the first USA’s president’s birthday. The third Monday of February can only occur between February 15 and 21. This is due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved many holidays to Mondays so that employees could have more long weekends.