Presidents’ Day in all its patriotic glory. Presidents’ Day moved in an effort to create more three-day weekends for the public in the hope that this would inspire greater productivity nationwide. It was believed that at this point in the year, the restorative effects of the winter holidays have begun to fade and people need another break to regain some of that lost stamina.
After the death of George Washington in 1799, his birthday was unofficially celebrated as a day of remembrance called Washington Day. Throughout the 1800s, people used this day to honor the man that shaped America and the legacy he left. In 1832, a resolution permitted the removal and internment of George Washington’s body in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. and the erection of the Washington Monument in 1848 caused more celebrations nationwide.