P Day

Today we celebrate Presidents' Day. I don't really know much about the holiday, but I figured I had to do something seeing that I didn't get my card in the mail on time. It will be there tomorrow or the next day, President Obama.

Let me start with very important information I did not know until I started researching. If you are looking on Wikipedia for info about Presidents' Day in Botswana, you have to type "Presidents' Day (Botswana)." You'd look really stupid talking about Presidents' Day in Botswana in February, when it's celebrated on the 3rd Monday and Tuesday in July.

Now for our Presidents' Day. If I'm not mistaken, it's a holiday started by a guy who didn't want to work on the 3rd Monday of February and was originally meant to honor George Washington's Birthday. There is nothing that Washington loved more then huge savings on furniture and used cars, which is why the tradition remains to this day.

Eventually people wanted to tie in Lincoln's birthday to the celebrations, and when Chester A. Arthur's people started complaining, we just went all out and made it a holiday for all of the Presidents. Different states celebrate this holiday differently and I learned some surprising facts. For instance, New Mexico observes Presidents' Day as a paid state government vacation day the Friday after Thanksgiving. The surprising fact for me is that New Mexico is still considered a state, especially after learning info like that.

That's is pretty much my understanding of the holiday, and I'd like to thank the mixture of Pennsylvania and NY State Public Schools for my education. Hope you are all enlightened, especially you Kathryn since you're going to be in Botswana the 3rd Monday and Tuesday in July.

Dave