Since 1971, federal employees have enjoyed a three-day holiday weekend each February. The long weekend is often filled with Presidents’ Day sales — no long weekend for many hardworking retail employees — family time, and relaxing.
Yet despite the holiday often being referred to as “Presidents’ Day” in practice, the official federal holiday continues to be known as “Washington’s Birthday.” When George Washington himself was alive, people honored the occasion with balls and banquets. The celebration continued after his death as a way to remember what America’s first president did for the Nation.
Actually, George Washington’s birthday is Feb. 22, which became a federal holiday in 1879. Today, we celebrate Washington’s Birthday on the third Monday of February each year — the result of the 1968 law mandating that a number of federal holidays occur on Mondays.
Incidentally, the third Monday in February can never fall on the 22nd, meaning the federal holiday will never land on Washington’s actual birth date.
Presidents’ Day also celebrates the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States.
Lincoln had close ties to this area as his great-uncle, Isaac Lincoln, and his wife had a home on the Watauga River in the Lynn Valley community, and Lincoln’s father often visited here. He married Mary Ward in Carter County on Aug. 28, 1780.
Isaac and Mary’s only son died. They brought up Phoebe Williams and William Stover. William was Mary’s sister, Livica Ward Stover’s son. Phoebe was the daughter of Mordecai Williams and Elizabeth Stover.
Isaac Lincoln appeared on the 1792 tax list and the 1794 tax list for Washington County, Va.
On November 7, 1796, Isaac bought 94-3/4 acres from Landon Carter.
There are traditions that Thomas Lincoln lived on the Isaac Lincoln farm, and some believe that Abraham (later president of the United States) was born here, but that cannot be established.
All of the older Carrigers believed that Thomas Lincoln lived here. The Carrigers were in a position to know a great deal about the Lincolns, because the two families were on very intimate terms, owned land joining each other, and Christian Carriger and Isaac Lincoln married sisters.
One hundred and fifty-five years after his death in 1865, Abraham Lincoln is still a great example for America and the world in many areas of human activity.
And while his birthday won’t be rightly celebrated until next weekend, we call attention to his Feb. 12 birthday, and a man who served our country when it was most divided during the Civil War. He paid with his life when he was assassinated.
On both Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthday we ask that you take a moment and think about the real meaning to Presidents’ Day: respect and leadership, especially in today’s political climate.
Men like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln shaped our country’s political landscape.
President Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were champions of their party, but put their country first.
If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to let it repeat itself.
Political conversations today can often turn into divisive arguments, and petty squabbles, but if we all realize the value of respecting and listening to someone’s opinion, then we can all bring our communities a little closer to how our past presidents have envisioned.
Both today’s president and our congressional leader could learn a lesson or two from Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.