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A Style Guide for Presidents’ Day
Happy Presidents’ Day.
Make that happy “recognition of the birthday of George Washington” for readers in North Dakota, or “George Washington/Thomas Jefferson Birthday” for those in Alabama.
Most states recognize the third Monday in February as a holiday. But what exactly they’re celebrating – and what they call it – is all over the map.
In 1879, “Washington’s Birthday” was declared a federal holiday and celebrated on his actual birthday (February 22).
That stuck for nearly a century. Then in 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved it to the third Monday in February to give federal employees a three-day weekend.
The move was more controversial than it might seem. Some lawmakers, especially those from Washington’s home state of Virginia, bristled at distancing the holiday from the first president. Others, including a representative from Illinois, saw an opportunity to rename the holiday as “President’s Day” to also honor Abraham Lincoln (born on February 12).
Ultimately, a compromise was reached that kept the federal holiday as “Washington’s Birthday.”
Then, states started creating their own versions, and chaos ensued.
Today, the holiday has 14 different names across the states that recognize it.
What’s in a Name?
Maybe the semantics don’t matter much for the holiday. But it’s an interesting reminder that branding buy-in is often harder than it seems, especially when making a change. You need alignment on the intent of the messaging, buy-in from all stakeholders and consistency on its applications.
With “George Washington’s Birthday and Daisy Bates Day” (the official name in Arkansas), governments had none of those things. They couldn’t agree on what exactly was being celebrated, or when, so they each created their own versions.
It’s also a lesson in the power of culture and media influencing names and applications beyond what is officially correct. Organizations and news outlets aren’t going to attempt to navigate a dozen different names. That’s why most places just refer to it as “Presidents’ Day.”