What holiday fell on February 17 this year? You probably call it Presidents Day, or maybe Presidents’ Day. But it all depends on where you live.

The federal government doesn’t actually recognize Presidents Day. It’s Washington’s Birthday. It honors the first president. 

But the holiday hasn’t been celebrated on George Washington’s real birthday in years. He was born February 22, 1732.

In 1971, lawmakers decided the holiday would be the third Monday of February. Most people started calling it Presidents Day then. That day is also close to Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. The Civil War president was born February 12. 

Forty-seven states celebrated a holiday on February 17 this year. 

What about the other three? Indiana and Georgia honor the first president in a completely different month. They give state workers the day after Christmas off.

Delaware has no holiday. In 2009, its lawmakers started giving state employees two “floating holidays.” Those days off are in place of honoring individual presidents or having a Presidents Day.

The 47 states didn’t all mark the same thing. A dozen states honor the first president along with someone else.

In Alabama, it’s Thomas Jefferson. He was the nation’s third president. In Arkansas, it’s Daisy Gaston Bates. She worked during the Civil Rights era. She helped nine black students go to a white school. In most states, it’s Abraham Lincoln. 

Fourteen states have a separate holiday just for Mr. Lincoln. Most are on his birthday. 

A few states have special days for other presidents. For example, there’s:

• Herbert Hoover in Iowa
• Dwight Eisenhower in Kansas
• Harry Truman in Missouri
• Lyndon Johnson in Texas
• John F. Kennedy in Massachusetts

On Mr. Kennedy’s May 29 birthday, his home state also honors three other presidents. John Adams and John Quincy Adams were born there. Calvin Coolidge was a Vermont farm boy. Later, he became Massachusetts’ governor. 

In Kentucky, January 30 is Franklin D. Roosevelt Day. That president guided the country through the Great Depression. But he was a New Yorker!

Could new holidays come soon? In Oklahoma, a state senator proposed a new holiday for November 5. That’s the anniversary of last year’s presidential election. The senator proposed that the day be called President Donald J. Trump Day.

The Apostle Paul said, “Give honor to whom honor is owed.” (Romans 13:7) What do you think he meant by that?