Happy Birthday George Washington
Today February 22 is the birthday of George Washington, America's first President and a founding father of our nation.
Military Benefits states it simply:
The Federal holiday is officially recognized as Washington's Birthday, though the Federal government has never legally changed the holiday to President's Day. ("3rd Monday in February").
The Journal of the American Revolution posted a collection of statements including this one:
J. L. Bell:
Americans
started
to
celebrate
George
Washington's
birthday
in
the
middle
of
the
Revolutionary
War.
The
first
commemoration
to
be
noted
in
newspapers
occurred
on
February
11,
1779,
in
Milton,
Massachusetts.
The
next
was
in
Williamsburg,
Virginia,
in
the
same
year,
but
eleven
days
later,
on
February
22.
The two dates reflected how people born in the British Empire before 1752 were still adjusting to the shift of the calendar that year. Washington had been born on a day that the Julian Calendar designated as February 11, 1731 (Old Style). The same day under the Gregorian Calendar was February 22, 1732 (New Style).
So which date should Washington's admirers celebrate? For years different communities chose different dates. As late as 1799, the town of Alexandria, Virginia, observed Washington's birthday on February 11 even though he wrote about "my birthday" as "the 22d."
And another writer:
Gene
Procknow:
If
you
read
only
one
of
Washington's
thousands
of
writings,
I
recommend
his
understated
but
elegant
resignation
address
to
the
Continental
Congress
after
the
Revolutionary
War.
Unequivocally,
Washington
publicly
recognized
the
primacy
of
civilian
leadership
over
the
military,
which
is
a
bedrock
principle
of
American
government
today.
However,
distinctly
different
from
many
leaders
today,
nowhere
in
his
three-hundred
word
address
did
a
modest
Washington
take
personal
credit
for
victory
or
extoll
his
many
successes.
Most
prominently,
he
highlighted
and
praised
subordinate
officers
and
urged
Congress
to
recognize
their
critical
contributions.
Magnanimously,
he
handed
his
original
officer's
commission
to
the
President
of
Congress,
Thomas
Mifflin,
a
former
major
general
and
critic
who
advocated
replacing
Washington
in
the
dark
days
of
1777.
Finally, underscoring his respect for the supremacy of Congress, Washington physically bowed to the delegates before departing the chamber.
This
dramatic
and
heroic
example
of
subduing
one's
self-importance
for
the
greater
good
of
the
nation
is
one
of
the
principle
reasons
why
we
continue
to
celebrate
Washington's
Birthday
over
two
hundred
years
after
his
death.
Washington's
resignation
provides
a
timeless
model
for
today's
leaders
and
citizens
to
focus
on
what
matters
most,
not
on
their
ego
gratification.
Public Advocate president Eugene Delgaudio dressed in colonial style in honor of George Washington's Birthday.