Presidents’ Day: When Mount Rushmore Throws a Party

Once upon a third Monday in February, America collectively agreed on something rare and magical: Let’s honor past presidents… and also maybe buy a couch. Presidents’ Day is that curious holiday where George Washington and Abraham Lincoln share billing with mattress sales, car dealerships, and suspiciously enthusiastic appliance discounts. It’s part history lesson, part retail safari, and part national excuse to ask, “Wait—do I have this day off?”

But beneath the parade of percent-off signs and inflatable Uncle Sams lies a charmingly peculiar celebration of leadership, legacy, and the noble art of crossing the Delaware in an open boat while dressed like a fancy pastry. Let us explore.

A Holiday with Two Birthdays and One Very Confused Calendar

Presidents’ Day began life as Washington’s Birthday—because if you’re going to start a country, you at least deserve your own day. Then Lincoln showed up with a beard, a stovepipe hat, and some very serious ideas about unity, and suddenly February was hosting two presidential birthdays. Eventually, the calendar threw up its hands and said, “Fine. Everybody gets one Monday.” And thus, Presidents’ Day was born: a diplomatic compromise between powdered wigs and tall hats.

Today, it honors not just Washington and Lincoln, but all presidents—yes, even the ones you forgot existed. (Looking at you, Millard Fillmore. We see you. Sort of.)

Imagining the Presidents at a Modern Presidents’ Day

Picture it for a moment. George Washington is standing stoically in the living room, wondering why everyone is shouting about zero-percent financing. Abraham Lincoln is attempting to assemble a flat-pack bookshelf with quiet determination, muttering something profound about perseverance. Theodore Roosevelt is outside wrestling a bear that wandered in from the neighbor’s yard. Thomas Jefferson is explaining, at great length, how he redesigned the kitchen based on Enlightenment principles. And James Madison is just happy someone remembered his name. Meanwhile, Mount Rushmore is hosting a party, complete with popcorn, classic movies, and Lincoln insisting on being the designated snack monitor.

The Cherry Tree, the Log Cabin, and Other Presidential Starter Packs

Presidents’ Day also brings out America’s favorite historical legends:

• Washington bravely confessing to chopping down the cherry tree. (Honesty is important, kids.)

• Lincoln growing up in a log cabin, proving you can go from humble beginnings to having your face on currency.

• Teddy Roosevelt charging up hills, down rivers, and possibly through time itself.

These stories remind us that presidents are not born fully formed with speeches and statues. They start as kids, dreamers, bookworms, and occasionally mischievous troublemakers just like the rest of us.

Leadership, Laugh Lines, and the Long View

At its heart, Presidents’ Day is about more than historical trivia or discounted recliners. It’s a chance to reflect on leadership—on the courage to make hard choices, the humility to serve something larger than oneself, and the resilience to keep going when the nation feels like it’s being assembled without instructions. It’s also a reminder that every president was, at some point, just a regular person trying to do an extraordinary job under very bright lights.

And probably very little sleep.

So How Should You Celebrate?

However you like:

• Read a biography.

• Watch a historical documentary.

• Visit a monument.

• Teach kids about the presidents.

• Or simply enjoy a day off while eating a sandwich in honor of Washington, Lincoln, and whoever first decided Mondays should be flexible.

Maybe raise a mug of coffee to the leaders who shaped the nation, the ideals they wrestled with, and the strange, wonderful democracy they helped build—one powdered wig at a time.

Happy Presidents’ Day. May your history be rich, your furniture discounted, and your inner Mount Rushmore forever in comfy pajamas.