This is Washington’s birthday – the original President’s Day. You may be thinking, "Wait, wasn’t that last Monday?” You would be right that President’s Day was last Monday, but the original President’s Day honored George Washington, our first president, on his actual birthday of February 22. What caused it to shift to a Monday holiday? The answer may surprise you: it was marketing!

After his presidency, George Washington wanted nothing more than to retire to his home with his wife, Martha, and live out his days as a farmer. However, people made him a celebrity. There were a lot of people trying to glob onto his reputation and make a little cash from it. Have you ever heard of inns in the 1800s marketing their establishment as a place where Washington slept? It was a big deal to spend the night where the first president laid his head.

Having a federal holiday named after him was not something that George Washington ever sought after. However, being the first at anything grand sets you up to be a hero and heroes are typically commemorated in some way. In 1832, to celebrate his 100th birthday, Congress established a committee to venerate the Father of our country. There were parades and speeches made in Washington’s esteemed honor. Fast forward 47 years later, in 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes proclaimed that February 22 would be a federal holiday known as Washington’s Birthday. All government offices, schools and businesses were closed to honor the original president.

That all changed in 1971, and here is how marketing entered into the equation. In 1968, there was a petition in Congress to move federal holidays that were celebrated on specific dates to Monday holidays, creating a three-day weekend and an opportunity for businesses (particularly in the retail industry) to market to consumers on these long weekends. The holidays targeted were Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Labor Day*, Columbus Day and Veterans Day (which has since been moved back to its firm date of November 11.) Congress voted to put the Uniform Monday Holiday Act into effect on January 1, 1971.

What were the results? President’s Day is now a day full of sales. In particular, it has become known as one of the five best days to buy a mattress. This might have something to do with those inns advertising that George Washington slept here. For the most part, people have forgotten Washington’s birthday. There certainly aren’t many people giving speeches about his honor in leading our country before they sell you a Tempur-Pedic mattress. In a roundabout way, Washington’s birthday morphed into President’s Day and then it all became a three-day sale.

In any case, this is George’s 292^nd birthday, so I say give some props to our first president. He might not have sought the marketing of his name, but he has become synonymous with making a buck… whose picture is on the dollar bill?

_________

*Labor Day was always celebrated on a Monday even before the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. Since that time, MLK Day (1983) has been added to the Monday federal holidays.

When Is the Best Time to Buy a Mattress?by Courtney Niedel, nerdwallet.com, January 11, 2024

Image: George Washington by Gilbert Stuart