Presidents Day, Really?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.." -William Shakespeare

So why exactly do we celebrate two President's birthdays on the same day? Initially it was (for some) to honor all the American presidents, but most importantly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. If you look at the Gregorian or "New Style" calendar most commonly used today, George Washington was born on February 22, 1732.

But if you look at the older Julian or "Old Style" calendar used in England until 1752, his birth date was February 11th. And Americans back in the 1790s were split - some celebrated his birthday on February 11th and some on February 22nd. What a shocking notion that Americans were having a disagreement.

When Abraham Lincoln became president and helped reshape our country, many believed that he, too, should have a special day of recognition. The tough part was that Lincoln’s birthday fell on February 12th. And prior to 1968, having two presidential birthdays so close together really didn't seem to bother anyone.

• February 22nd was observed as a federal public holiday to honor the birthday of George Washington
• February 12th was observed as a public holiday to honor Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.

Then in 1968, things changed when the 90th Congress decided that a uniform system of federal Monday holidays should be created. A vote was made to shift all three existing holidays (including Washington's Birthday) to Mondays. This new law took effect in 1971, and as a result, Washington's Birthday holiday was changed to the third Monday in February.

Again, shockingly, not all Americans were happy with the new law. There was some concern Washington's identity would be forgotten as the third Monday in February would never fall on his actual birthday. Others also attempted to rename this public holiday "Presidents' Day", alas this attempt didn't get any support as some believed not all presidents deserved a special recognition.

With all of the holiday changes, Congress had created a uniform federal holiday law but not a uniform holiday title. There was no agreement among the individual states on what to call this holiday. There were some states, like California, Idaho, Tennessee and Texas made the choice not to use the federal holiday title and renamed their state holiday "President's Day."

It was at that point going forward that the term “Presidents' Day” became a marketing phenomenon. Advertisers sought to capitalize on the opportunity for three-day or week-long sales.

There have been attempts since that time to specify that the legal public holiday once referred to as Washington's Birthday be "officially" called by that name once again. All attempts have failed.

So what does this have to do with having a great attitude and success in life?

Most people today accept things as they are. They accept that President's Day is called that because it just is. They accept that their life is what it is. But if you dig a little deeper, you will find out more. If you dig a little deeper into yourself, you will find that YOU are so much more.

Don't accept things as they are in your life. You can get beyond what you currently have and where you are in life. You simply need to dig a little deeper and learn that you are capable of so much more.

So enjoy your Federal Holiday, then move forward in life. And stay inspired my friends.