Sweet Deal

February 21, 1968, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

When we were growing up, we celebrated George Washington's birthday on February 22nd.  That changed in 1971 with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act,  an act of Congress that amended the federal holiday provisions of the United States Code to establish the observance of certain holidays on Mondays. The Act was signed into law on June 28, 1968 and took effect on January 1, 1971.

 

The Act moved Washington's Birthday (February 22), Memorial Day (May 30), and Veterans Day (November 11) from fixed dates to designated Mondays, and established as a federal holiday Columbus Day to a designated Monday. Veterans Day was removed from this list of "always-on-Monday" holidays when it was moved back to its traditional date of November 11, by act of Congress in 1975, effective 1978.

Contrary to popular belief, the Act did not officially establish "Presidents Day", nor did it combine the observance of Lincoln's Birthday with Washington's Birthday. The perception stems from the fact that the act placed federal observance of Washington's "birthday" in the week of February 15 to 21 and, since that week always falls between Lincoln's birthday (February 12) and Washington's (February 22), but never includes either date, popular references have given rise to the title, which recognizes both Presidents.  Many ^[update]states officially refer to the holiday as "Presidents' Day."

Whomever you celebrate that day, it's still a great occasion for cherry pie.