Thanks for the day off, President Washington. Presidents Day began in honor of him (remember “Washington’s Birthday”) then expanded to honor Lincoln, meaning we got two days off. Now it’s compressed into one so we can honor ALL Presidents–better for employers who had to give people two days off, but maybe less good for merchants who had both Washington and Lincoln day sales. Anyway, in the 1860s Congress, through the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, shifted several holidays around so they fell on Mondays. Why? Because, they figured, having long weekends would decrease people being “sick” in order to expand their mid-week (or whatever) holiday, and people would like some three-day weekends.
I hope you’re celebrating our Presidents and what they did to help our country. And my cousin, who owns a western-wear shop, hopes you’re out taking advantage of the sales.