The election of Donald Trump causing new fears over a holiday.
The United States on Monday marks Presidents Day, a holiday that’s taking on a new meaning for some Americans this year as President Donald Trump — to the dismay of some and delight of others — upends traditional notions of the office.
The holiday began as a celebration of George Washington’s birthday, Feb. 22, and its official name remains Washington’s Birthday.
Throughout the 19th century, communities celebrated with parades and fireworks, said Evan Phifer, a research historian at the White House Historical Association. In the late 1800s, Feb. 22 became a federal holiday.
The holiday was moved to the third Monday in February in 1971, creating a three-day weekend for many workers.
“There was fear when the holiday was moved to the third Monday that it would lose the distinction of Washington’s birthday, and people would forget his legacy,” Phifer said.
To some extent, that has happened. Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is Feb. 12, and many people now associate both presidents with the holiday. It has also become a retail holiday, where shoppers can get deals on cars, furniture and other goods during Presidents Day sales.
The Associated Press spoke with people around the country about their ideas about Presidents Day, the presidency and how it is changing.
Jack Warren is executive director of the Society of the Cincinnati, the nation’s oldest patriotic organization, founded in 1783. George Washington was the first president general of the group.
He calls the idea of Presidents Day “wrongheaded” and said referring to Washington’s Birthday as Presidents Day is a reflection of how out of touch we are with our revolutionary origins.
“The revolution George Washington led created the first great republic since antiquity. It articulated ideals of universal liberty, natural rights and equality that have shaped the entire history of our country and have reached beyond it,” he said.
“We don’t need a holiday to commemorate the presidency. We do need one to commemorate our greatest national leader.”[…]
Felicia Paul, who lives on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, voted for Hillary Clinton.
“My fears and my hopes as a Native person is that he thinks about the Native people, our treaty rights,” Paul said.
What does the holiday mean to her?
“As a Native American, I really don’t call it a Presidents Day holiday,” she said. “I just think of it as an all-chief’s day.”