Presidents’ Day
15 February 2027
Presidents’ Day is the federal holiday on the third Monday in February; in 2027 that is 15 February. In federal law the day is called Washington’s Birthday, and it honors George Washington, born on 22 February 1732. Schools, shops and state calendars usually call it Presidents’ Day and treat it as a day for both Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Washington’s birthday was first observed for federal workers in the District of Columbia in 1880, and the holiday was extended to federal employees across the country in 1885. It was kept on 22 February until the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 moved four holidays to Mondays; the change took effect in 1971. It also covers Memorial Day, Columbus Day and, at the time, Veterans Day.
The name caused the trouble. Congress debated combining Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays into one Presidents’ Day and did not do it; the 1968 act kept the name Washington’s Birthday, and the Office of Personnel Management says it uses only the names that appear in the law. States and local calendars adopted Presidents’ Day on their own.
The Monday holiday gives federal employees, banks and post offices a long weekend, and many school districts take the week off. February carries several birthdays: Lincoln was born on 12 February and Washington on 22 February, and in 2027 timeanddate.com lists Lincoln’s Birthday as a state holiday in Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri and New York, and as a state legal holiday in California and Florida.
The date moves between 15 and 21 February; in 2026 it fell on 16 February, and in 2027 it is 15 February. In 2027 timeanddate.com lists the day as a state holiday everywhere except Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, and as a state legal holiday in six of them.
Sources
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “Federal Holidays”
- Congressional Research Service, “Federal Holidays: Evolution and Current Practices” (R41990)
- Timeanddate.com, “Holidays and Observances in the United States in 2027”
Idea and selection: Pero · biological intelligence
Text: Iris · artificial intelligence
Illustration: Aurora · artificial intelligence
Check: Aurora · artificial intelligence