In 2023, Presidents Day is a national holiday celebrated on Monday, the 20th day of February.
Some of us who are historians or students of history are old fashioned and prefer to honor George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on their birthdays.
Years ago, George Washington’s birthday and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday were a thing. Then something happened so that, nowadays, most people don’t even think about Georgie and Abe, two of the most popular presidents ever.
As for George Washington, there is good reason for him to have become the first president. General George Washington was commander of the Continental Army. If not for his leadership of brave American patriots, victory over the redcoats and King George III of England during the American Revolution would likely have been a defeat. President George Washington was also a great statesman. Without George Washington, the army, the militias, the insurgents, our allies (such as the French), and the other founding fathers, the united states of America might have never been.
Note: the use of lower case united states in “the united states of America” is intentional for purposes of historical accuracy. America was intended to be the original name of our country; our territorial land. This can be seen in some original historical documents. Our people are Americans. United States of America is the name of the government. Nowadays, America, United States, US, United States of America, and USA, all refer to the nation. Historically, there have been other countries with united states as part of their official name. For example, from 1889 until 1930, the country we refer to as Brazil was officially named the Republic of the United States of Brazil.
As for 16th President Abraham Lincoln, the United States of America became divided when slave states of the south seceded and formed the Confederate States of America (CSA). Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and was instrumental in leading the Union yankee forces to defeat the Confederate rebels, which ended slavery in the USA.
So, why is it that so many people seem to have forgotten George and Abe to the point where most of us no longer celebrate – and not even remember – their birthdays ?!
By the way, today is Valentines Day 2/14/2023! Don’t you dare forget it or your loved one(s) will be pissed off.
For those of you who don’t know their birthdays… George Washington’s Birthday is February 22nd. Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday is February 12th.
What do you think happened so that most people of this generation no longer even think of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in February?