Feb 15 2009
Holidays Are Good
The U.S. is celebrating a three-day weekend in honor of Presidents Day. Abraham Lincoln was born Feb. 12. George Washington was born Feb. 22. Both men’s birthdays were once honored separately. Now their birthdays–along with the other 42 presidents–have been merged into the third Monday of February.
Most American holidays are observed on Monday or Friday. Government officials, no doubt spurred by the public, decided that skipping work on a Wednesday for the sake of remembering Lincoln’s true birthdate wasn’t as important as scheduling long weekends.
Public facilities will be closed Monday although many private businesses will be open. In terms of business closures, Christmas is the most widespread.
Thanksgiving is next, followed by New Year’s Day. Memorial Day and Labor Day are popular for stores to mark the start and finish of summer. Presidents Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day are the least-widely observed.
That’s it. Just seven U.S. national holidays. Not many at all.
