Blog: Presidents’ Day: From Washington to Main Street

Presidents’ Day is one of the few federal holidays most Americans recognize but rarely understand. For many, it’s simply a long weekend; for others, it’s a cue for sales and short trips. In classrooms and workplaces it may barely register beyond being “a day off.” Yet this mid-February observance started with very specific intentions rooted in the nation’s character and its greatest trials — and those origins still have something to teach us about leadership, responsibility, and what it means to honor a legacy.

George Washington, first President of the United States (public domain historic portrait)

George Washington’s birthday originally anchored the holiday. Born on February 22, 1732, Washington was not a king, emperor, or hereditary sovereign. In a world dominated by lifelong monarchs and imperial rulers, leaders rarely stepped aside voluntarily. The Roman Empire endured through conquest and lifelong rule; European monarchies of the 18th century — France, Spain, Russia — governed by tradition and succession. Washington’s choice to serve only two terms and then return to private life was unprecedented, a demonstration of restraint that signaled something radical: power could be held and relinquished without violence. It was a defining moment in America’s fragile experiment with self-government.

In 1879, Congress made Washington’s birthday a federal holiday, first for federal workers in Washington, D.C., and later for the nation. By 1885, Washington’s Birthday had joined the ranks of officially recognized national holidays alongside Independence Day and Christmas, the first time a federal holiday honored the life of an individual American.

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (public domain portrait)

Abraham Lincoln’s role in Presidents’ Day’s evolution is inseparable from his leadership during the Civil War — arguably the greatest crisis in American history. Lincoln’s presidency was defined by the monumental task of preserving the Union and abolishing slavery, most visibly through the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment.  While Lincoln’s birthday (February 12) was never adopted as a federal holiday nationwide, many states long observed it independently. Over time, the proximity of Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays in February encouraged a collective cultural remembrance of both men.

The broadening of the observance began with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, signed into law in 1968 and effective January 1, 1971. Officially, this law moved several federal holidays — including Washington’s Birthday — from fixed calendar dates to designated Mondays to create predictable three-day weekends for workers and stimulate economic activity, especially in travel and retail.  Washington’s Birthday was shifted to the third Monday in February, a placement that ensured the holiday never fell on Washington’s actual birthday of February 22. Congress kept the federal designation as Washington’s Birthday under law, but the public and many states began referring to the holiday as “Presidents’ Day,” partly because the new date sits neatly between Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays.

Over the decades that followed, the holiday’s name and meaning drifted further. By the 1980s and 1990s, Presidents’ Day had become a familiar term on calendars, even in states that still officially recognize Washington’s Birthday. Variations abound: some states celebrate it as “Washington and Lincoln Day,” others honor additional presidents or local figures as part of the observance.

As the holiday’s institutional tie loosened and its calendar connection faded, a cultural gap emerged — one that commerce was quick to fill. Retailers, especially in the mattress, furniture, and appliance sectors, seized on the three-day weekend created by the Monday observance to promote deep sales and inventory clearances. These “Presidents’ Day Sales” are now a fixture of mid-February marketing calendars, a transformation that some historians view as evidence of the holiday’s drift into routine commercialism.

This shift isn’t unique to the American experience — holidays without clear narratives often become opportunities for consumer messaging — but it speaks to a broader point: when a civic moment loses its story, other voices rush in to fill the vacuum. That doesn’t mean the original ideas behind Presidents’ Day are irrelevant. The foundational values — restraint, responsibility, stewardship, continuity — remain timely. Washington’s choice to step down from power helped define the republic’s character; Lincoln’s leadership in wartime redefined it. Neither presidency was perfect, but both were anchored in the belief that the office is a temporary trust, not a personal entitlement. Those principles still matter.

For businesses, recognizing Presidents’ Day solely as a sales weekend is easy. Honoring it meaningfully requires more intention. Companies can help restore context and connection by telling their own origin stories, highlighting the people who carry the mission forward, reflecting on lessons learned through challenging seasons, and supporting community partnerships in ways that resonate beyond transactional moments. These actions build trust and continuity — qualities customers value when deciding whom to support.

In many ways, every small business already mirrors aspects of the presidential journey. Owners and leaders set culture, navigate crises, inherit systems, and leave legacies. There is a founding phase marked by ingenuity and risk, a crisis phase tested by adversity, and a stewardship phase defined by resilience and care. This cycle plays out not just in Washington but in offices, shops, studios, and service businesses across Main Street.

Presidents’ Day doesn’t exist to celebrate perfection. It exists to remind us that leadership is stewardship, and that building things which last requires more than ambition — it requires responsibility and care. The holiday may have drifted from its historical moorings, but its roots still point toward something practical and human: what are we building that survives us?

Written with AI assistance based on the author’s ideas, experience, and editorial direction.

Michael Woodruff is a former news reporter and radio announcer turned creative marketer and founder of Woodruff Media. Michael brings a storyteller’s discipline and a journalist’s perspective to his work. Today, he helps businesses and communities communicate clearly through video, design, livestreaming, and digital strategy, focusing on authenticity, practical messaging, and long-term impact. Michael is a US Army veteran and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.