Presidents Day, Presidents’ Day or Washington’s Birthday
On the occasion of a certain U.S. presidential holiday observed on the third Monday of each February, a simple -- or not so simple -- question: Test your knowledge. 🤔
What is the correct way to write this holiday?
Presidents Day
Presidents' Day
Washington's Birthday
All the above.
And the correct answer to the poll is option four, “All the above.” The spelling as a plural possessive, “Presidents’ Day,” is the most common and the oldest, but Associated Press style, which is the standard for most journalists and media outlets, uses the apostrophe-less “Presidents Day.” As for “Washington’s Birthday,” in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, which moved a number of federal holidays to Mondays. As part of the bill, it was proposed that Washington’s Birthday be renamed Presidents’ Day to honor the birthdays of both Washington (Feb. 22) and Lincoln (Feb. 12), on the third Monday of February. Although Congress rejected the name change, Presidents’ Day became the commonly accepted name, partly because so many businesses used that name to promote sales in the time period around both birthdays. However, Washington’s Birthday is and remains the official name of the federal holiday, on the third Monday of February.