United States · February 16, 2026

Presidents' Day

The third Monday of February — officially still Washington's Birthday.

What happened

George Washington was born on 22 February 1732. The federal holiday is still legally called Washington's Birthday; "Presidents' Day" is what almost everyone calls it, partly because Lincoln's birthday falls on the 12th and partly because retailers found it a useful name. The Monday holiday law of 1968 moved it, which is why it can never actually land on the 22nd.

Why it stuck

Washington's largest act was leaving. He gave up command in 1783 and the presidency in 1797, when he could have kept either. George III is said to have remarked that if Washington gave up power he would be the greatest man in the world — a story often repeated and hard to verify, but it survives because it captures what surprised people.

What a family can do

Read the last paragraph of Washington's Farewell Address. Ask: why would a man warn a country about political parties before there really were any?

Questions to work through

1. Washington could have stayed president for life. Write down three reasons a person might give up power.
2. The holiday can never fall on Washington's actual birthday. Explain why, using a calendar.
3. Find one thing Washington did that you think was harder than winning a battle.