President’s, Presidents’, Presidents Day February 19 Fun Trivia Test

President’s, Presidents’, Presidents Day February 19 Fun Trivia Test

By San Jose Cupertino REALTOR® Michelle Carr-Crowe

In Silicon Valley, Calif. Most residents enjoy taking Presidents Day off, especially if they get paid for it!
As writers and bloggers, we can argue about the appropriate placement of-or absence of-the apostrophe in the name.

For "President’s Day”, “Presidents’ Day”, and “Presidents’ Day”, for simplicity's sake, we’ll use the last, most inclusive phrase-Presidents Day.

If you feel “Mental Floss” smart, go straight to the Presidents Day Trivia Quiz and test yourself. To give yourself an advantage to be a know-it-all, read this post first, then take the quiz.

Originally, the first “President’s Day” celebrated the birth of George Washington, the “Father of Our Country.” Some folks can remember celebrating two presidential holidays as schoolchildren-Feb. 12 as Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday and Feb. 22 as George Washington’s Birthday. Certainly both the founder of our county and the uniter of our country (and emancipator of the slaves) are worthy of remembering and honoring.

This year Presidents Day falls on Monday, February 19, 2013. 

Although today Presidents’ Day means sales on appliances, electronics and housewares, the three-day holiday didn’t start out that way.

When future president George Washington was born on February 11th in 1732, the Julian calendar was still in use. In 1752, the Gregorian calendar was adopted to standardize the small differences in leftover time each year. This was when February 29 began being used every four years (Leap Year). This calendar changed Washington’s birthday to February 22nd, a full 11 days later.

Washington’s Birthday generated extreme patriotic displays, exceeded only by July 4th, Independence Day. Although celebrated in the District of Columbia since 1880, it wasn’t until 1885 that President Chester A. Arthur proclaimed Washington’s new February 22nd birthday an official federal holiday. It was the first federal holiday acknowledging a public figure’s birthday.

In the 1950’s, the National Association of Tour Organizations, (not to be confused with the other NATO) proposed combining Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthday into one holiday, and setting it for the third Monday of February. The proposal didn’t pass-then.

What people refer to as Presidents Day, is, and remains, officially Washington’s birthday. The confusion is due to conflicts between federal and state holiday observances. For example, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was celebrated by some states but was never made a federal holiday.

For example, the southern state of Alabama celebrates Abraham Lincoln’s and Thomas Jefferson’s birthday together on Feb. 12th, even though Jefferson was born in April.

In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Act officially set the three-day Presidents Day holiday permanently for the third Monday I February, starting in 1971. Three-day holidays were originally initiated to limit absenteeism. (The first four federal holidays were for New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day).

This effectively meant the nation would never celebrate Washington’s birthday on his actual (adjusted) birthday of Feb. 22.

Whether you call it Washington’s Birthday, Lincoln's Birthday or Presidents Day, enjoy the three-day holiday-especially now that you’ve educated yourself and can now quiz others!

Before you read the rest of the article, test your knowledge of the Presidents Day holiday here.
1. The first Presidents Day was held in the year
A. 1900
B. 1971
C. 1885
D. None of the above

2. Presidents Day was first suggested as a federal holiday by
A. Chester A. Arthur
B. Abraham Lincoln
C. NATO
D. Richard Nixon

3. Presidents’ Day honors which president(s):
A. George Washington
B. Abraham Lincoln
C. Richard Nixon
D. Washington and Lincoln
E. All presidents

4. George Washington’s actual birthday is:
A. Feb. 11
B. Feb. 12
C. Feb. 21
D. Feb. 22


RESULTS:
After reading this article about the history of Presidents Day you probably already know the correct answers, but just in case:

1. D-None, there is no federal Presidents Day.

2. C-NATO (National Association of Tour Organizations) first suggested it in the 1950’s.

3. A-George Washington.

4. A and D-Washington’s Julian birthday was Feb. 11 and his Gregorian birthday was Feb. 22.

You may also enjoy reading more about Presidents Day, Washington’s Birthday and Lincoln’s Birthday at the websites listed below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington's_Birthday 
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/presidents/presidentsday.asp 
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/winter/gw-birthday-1.html

Images courtesy of Wikipedia.

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