DoDEA

OKINAWA, JAPAN — February 16, 2012 — What originally started as a celebration of our first U.S. President, is now known as Presidents Day and is celebrated on the third Monday in February.
Originally titled "Washington's Birthday," a federal holiday honoring President George Washington was officially put into action in 1879 by Congress and was celebrated on his birthday, Feb. 22. In order to conform to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act the celebration was shifted to the third Monday of February in 1968, and as a result, rarely occurs on his birthday. To better fit the new date of the celebration it is now commonly referred to as “Presidents Day” though the name of the federal holiday has not been officially changed and each state has their own rituals and methods of celebration.

Here in DoDEA Pacific we welcome you to take a day and celebrate our country’s rich history, accomplishments, and interesting facts.

Please visit some of the links below to read more about Presidents Day and find your own way to celebrate!

History of Washington’s Birthday, also known as “President’s Day” from the National Archives

Some interesting, and funny, facts about our presidents from PBS Kids
         (Ulysses S. Grant once got a speeding ticket for riding his horse too fast!)

President’s Day Synopsis from Scholastic

About DoDEA Pacific:
DoDEA Pacific provides a comprehensive preK-12 education to the children of military and eligible civilian personnel families serving throughout Asia. The 49 schools in DoDEA Pacific are comprised of more than 24,000 students and 3,100 full-time professional educators and support staff. The schools are geographically organized into four districts: Guam, Japan, Okinawa and South Korea.

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