BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) wishes all of its membership, officials, coaches, fans and administrators a Happy Presidents Day – or the name the holiday goes by in the individual’s state.
The day was originally called Washington’s Birthday, which was a United States federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States, who was born on February 22, 1732. The day can occur between February 15 through February 21 inclusive.
The day is also now widely known as Presidents’ Day and is often an occasion to honor all persons who have served as president, not just George Washington.
The day is a state holiday in most states, with official names including Washington’s Birthday, Presidents’ Day, President’s Day, and Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthday. Depending upon the specific law, the state holiday might officially celebrate Washington alone, Washington and Abraham Lincoln (whose birthday is February 12) or some other combination of U.S. presidents (such as Washington and the third president Thomas Jefferson, who was born in April).
Although Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, was never a federal holiday, nearly half of the state governments have officially renamed their Washington’s Birthday observances as “Presidents’ Day”, “Washington and Lincoln Day”, or other such designations. However, “Presidents’ Day” is not always an all-inclusive term and might refer to only a selection of presidents.
In the following states and possessions, Washington’s Birthday is an official state holiday and known as:
- Presidents’ Day in Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Washington
- President’s Day in Alaska, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming
- Presidents Day in Nevada, New Jersey, and Oregon
- Washington’s Birthday/President’s Day in Maine
- Lincoln/Washington/Presidents’ Day in Arizona
- George Washington Day in Virginia
- Washington’s Birthday in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and New York
- Lincoln’s and Washington’s Birthday in Montana
- Washington–Lincoln Day in Colorado and Ohio
- Washington and Lincoln Day in Utah
- Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthday in Minnesota
- George Washington/Thomas Jefferson Birthday in Alabama
- George Washington’s Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day in Arkansas
- “The third Monday in February” in California, and Lincoln’s birthday is explicitly named as a separate holiday.
Several states honor presidents with official state holidays that do not fall on the third Monday of February. In Massachusetts, the state officially celebrates “Washington’s Birthday” on the same day as the Federal holiday. State law also directs the governor to issue an annual “Presidents Day” proclamation on May 29 (John F. Kennedy’s birthday), honoring the presidents with Massachusetts roots: Kennedy, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Calvin Coolidge. In California, Connecticut, Missouri and Illinois, while Washington’s Birthday is a federal holiday, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is still a state holiday, falling on February 12 regardless of the day of the week.
In New Mexico, Presidents’ Day, at least as a state-government paid holiday, is observed on the Friday following Thanksgiving. In Georgia, Presidents’ Day, at least as a state-government paid holiday, is observed on Christmas Eve (Observed on the prior Thursday if Christmas falls on Saturday; observed on the prior Friday if Christmas falls on a Sunday. If December 24 is a Wednesday, then this holiday is observed on Friday December 26). Similarly, in Indiana, Washington’s Birthday is observed on Christmas Eve, or the day preceding the weekend if Christmas falls on Saturday or Sunday; while Lincoln’s Birthday is the day after Thanksgiving.
