Seasonal & Holidays

Abraham Lincoln's Birthday On Feb. 12 Was Never A Federal Holiday

Presidents Day is generally seen as a federal holiday observing the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln; there's more to it.

Beth Dalbey, Patch Staff

ACROSS AMERICA — Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is Saturday, a day off for many Americans — not that it matters much after the U.S. government effectively took away the 16th U.S. president’s birthday.

Don't bother asking what's open and what's closed on Lincoln's birthday. Only a handful of states still observe an official holiday commemorating Lincoln’s birth on Feb. 12, 1809, in a one-room log cabin in LaRue County, Kentucky.

They include his adopted state of Illinois, along with California, Connecticut, Missouri and New York.

Lincoln’s birthday was never an official federal holiday, though — a much-lamented exclusion among those who believe he was the most influential president in U.S. history. He led Union states through the American Civil War and emancipated the slaves. He was assassinated on April 15, 1865.

In the public consciousness, Lincoln’s birthday is spun in with that of the first U.S. president, George Washington, and is observed on Presidents Day, the third Monday in February. This year, that’s on Feb. 21.

Technically, though, the holiday observed on the third Monday of February commemorates Washington’s birth on Feb. 22, 1732.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971 doesn’t mention Lincoln’s birthday, or even Presidents Day. Some lawmakers argued during debate that Washington’s birthday should be renamed Presidents Day to include Lincoln, but Congress rejected that.

There are a few celebrations around the country to commemorate the 16th president’s birthday, including one at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The observance by the National Park Service and Lincoln Birthday National Commemorative Committee begins at 11 a.m.

Lincoln Days at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park near Hodgenville, Kentucky — the modern-day city near the Sinking Spring Farm where Lincoln was born — includes a wreath-laying ceremony.

After Lincoln’s assassination, there were efforts to have his birthday recognized as a federal holiday. It never happened, though states began setting aside Feb. 12 as a paid holiday on their own, according to the nonprofit National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

By 1890, Feb. 12 was observed as a paid holiday in 10 states; by 1940, Lincoln’s birthday was a holiday in 24 states and the District of Columbia.

As it stands now, three times more states observe Black Friday — the big retail shopping day after Thanksgiving — than Lincoln’s birthday. Another 10 states observe the religious holiday, Good Friday, and five recognize Dec. 26 as a paid holiday, according to the Constitution Center.