George Washington Day? Presidents Day? Washington’s Birthday?

The Federal Holiday Celebrated the 3rd Monday in February is "Washington's Birthday"



Edward Penfield, illustrator. Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division,

cph.3g12932.



But if you live in the Metro DC area, keeping track of this holiday's name can be confusing...

• In Virginia, the official state holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February is named George Washington Day.
• In Maryland, they now celebrate the state holiday President's Day on the third Monday, but until 1996, MD celebrated Lincoln's birthday on Feb. 12 and Washington's Birthday on the third Monday of February.
• In Washington D.C., the Human Resources Department matches the federal holiday and marks the third Monday of February as Washington's Birthday (pdf p.14).
• The United States Office of Personell Management (Federal Government) marks the third Monday of February as Washington's Birthday.

While "Lincoln's Birthday" is a separate holiday in some states, and "Presidents Day" is the name of the holiday in other states (although no one agrees on the punctuation), the term "Presidents Day" was never adopted as the name of the federal holiday.

{snip}