Wednesday, Feb. 03, 2010

Twist in Time: Celebrating Washington's Birthday

The celebration of George Washington's birthday is almost as old as the nation itself. It was first publicly observed before he left office, and after he died, the commemorations proliferated. This national recognition of Washington's birthday continued to gain momentum over the years until Congress acted in 1885, to make February 22, a national holiday, but therein lay a problem.

For the next 83 years Americans continued to recognize February 22, 1732, as George Washington's birthday. Then in 1968, Congress passed the Monday Holidays Act, which moved the official observance of Washington's birthday from Feb. 22 to the third Monday in February. Although most workers got a three-day weekend, Feb. 22 was still a highly revered day because that was the actual day our first President was born, or at least that was what the people had been told.

It is not unexpected then that a little confusion reigns during February of each year. On the third Monday of the month, some folks honor all of the Presidents. Others honor only Washington and Lincoln, and some honor just Washington. All the while, a few purists hold fast to Feb. 22 as the day to pay their respects.

In reality, however, it doesn't make any difference. For you see, Feb. 22 was not Washington's birthday, and he was not born in 1732!

At the time of Washington's birth, Great Britain and her colonies were living under the Julian calendar, which had come down from Roman times. According to that system of dating, the English New Year fell on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation. Thus, Washington, having been born on Feb. 11 under that calendar had a birth year of 1731.

Then in 1752, Britain adopted the more accurate Gregorian calendar, which shifted the start of the New Year to Jan. 1, and Washington's birthday to Feb. 22, 1732. And there it remains to this day. In a confusing twist in time, the British Empire gave George Washington a new birthday. One has to wonder just how long it took him to determine for himself precisely how old he was.