Tuesday, February 22, 2011

In Memory of the Birthday of Washington



I was going to just wish old George a Happy Birthday, but I discovered a couple of interesting facts when I looked up Washington's Birthday.

1. George Washington was not born on February 22, 1732. George Washington was born on February 11, 1731, according to the Julian calendar in use at the time. In 1752, however, Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, which placed Washington's birth on February 22, 1732.

2. The holiday on the third Monday of February is not Presidents Day, even though that is what most people call it. The third Monday of February is for the observance of Washington's Birthday. Contrary to popular belief, neither Congress nor the President has ever stipulated that the name of the holiday observed as Washington's Birthday be changed to "President's Day."

Happy Birthday anyway, George.

If you want to get really confused, read these articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_Birthday

http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/washington/

http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/winter/gw-birthday-1.html

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4 comments:

  1. RachelFebruary 23, 2011 at 8:23:00 AM CST

    Thanks for you explanation of my Rally Day postcard. Your made more sense than mine. There was so much out there on Rally Day, it was hard to sort out.

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  2. RachelFebruary 23, 2011 at 8:25:00 AM CST

    Oh-thanks for the George Washington info, interesting stuff! It's amazing to find those things out, isn't it?

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  3. Postcard RoundupFebruary 23, 2011 at 8:50:00 AM CST

    That's a really nice-looking postcard! It looks much more "inspired" than most of the Washington cards out there, with an interesting design and great, patriotic colors.

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  4. Christine H.February 23, 2011 at 6:44:00 PM CST

    Wowie Zowie! What great colors. I love this card. As for Washington's birthday etc. I was confused before and I'm still confused.

    ReplyDelete