While the holiday may originally have been intended to celebrate singular presidents of American history (namely, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln) and commensurately to educate the nescient public, I fear the purpose and focus of the occasion has long since degraded to that of a mere holiday and commercial enterprise. In fairness for those who reside in the northern limits of the United States of America toward the Canadian border at the 49th parallel, the holiday is no doubt a welcome respite from the cold and snow which by contrast in Key Largo for example is entirely wanting to an Olympic degree.

When I stepped across the road this morning from Buttonwood Bay to Cindy’s Hair Place to have my hair cut, Cindy asked whether I would participate in any of any of the upcoming planned festivities.  Before answering (that my current immobility discouraged me from doing so), I shared with her what I had recently heard from Dan the Man about an art show in Islamorada and possible music performances there.

Judging by the parking lot at Publix today there are plans afoot for private dining and all that that entails. The arid sea air from the southeast combined with the magical blue sky bode well for the social preparations. There is always an air of vacation gaiety which insinuates life on Key Largo but the advent of a midwinter holiday – even on the Florida Keys – appears to have captured the cheerful sensitivities of the locals; there is a pervasive hint of abandonment.  Perhaps the Buttonwood Bay roofers are anticipating the sojourn though maybe less for its erudition than its distractions.

For our part I precede this by saying we traditionally harbour a horror of popular holidays, not so much because we have our noses in the air when it comes to hoi polloi (though in concession to our irreversible curmudgeonly behaviour that is possibly true) but chiefly because we have so many other opportunities to exercise our indolence that it hardly seems fair to appropriate further dispensation unnecessarily at the expense or obstruction of others.

Neither Congress nor the President has ever stipulated that the name of the holiday observed as Washington’s Birthday be changed to Presidents’ Day. Additionally, Congress has never declared a national holiday that is binding in all states; each state has the freedom to determine its own legal holidays. This is why there are some calendar discrepancies when it comes to this holiday’s date.

Historically, Americans began celebrating George Washington’s Birthday just months after his death, long before Congress declared it a federal holiday. It was not until 1879, under President Rutherford B. Hayes, that Washington’s Birthday became a legal holiday, to be observed on his birthday, February 22.

Although the federal holiday is held on a Monday (the third Monday of February), George Washington’s birthday is observed on February 22. To complicate matters, Washington was actually born on February 11 in 1731! How can that be?

George Washington was originally born when the Julian calendar was in use. During Washington’s lifetime, people in Great Britain and America switched the official calendar system from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar (something that most of Europe had already done in 1582).

As a result of this calendar reform, people born before 1752 were told to add 11 days to their birth dates. Those born between January 1 and March 25, as Washington was, also had to add one year to be in sync with the new calendar.

By the time Washington became president in 1789, he celebrated his birthday on February 22 and listed his year of birth as 1732.

To summarize, Washington’s birthday changed from February 11, 1731 (Old-Style Julian calendar), to February 22, 1732 (New-Style Gregorian calendar).

Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.
– George Washington (1732–99)