A historical exhibit at the Kansas Statehouse includes a display quoting President Abraham Lincoln next to a map showing the original extent of the Kansas-Nebraska territories before Kansas became a state and Lincoln took office in 1861, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Topeka, Kansas. (AP Photo/John Hanna)2025-02-16T05:07:36Z TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Is Presidents Day the most confusing holiday in the U.S.?States seem to have as many names for it and ideas about whom to honor as there have been presidents. The federal government doesnt even recognize Monday as Presidents Day. Its officially Washingtons Birthday, honoring the first president and the original American yardstick for measuring greatness. The holiday hasnt been celebrated on Washingtons actual birthday of Feb. 22, or any other presidents birthday, for more than 50 years. Presidents Day became the popular name after the holiday was fixed to a Monday.The result is a jumble, causing some people to yearn for the holiday to just celebrate Washington again.The concept of Presidents Day is a confusing mishmash of ideas, Hunter Abell, a Republican state legislator from Washington state, said recently. By celebrating all the presidents, I believe that we inadvertently celebrate none. Abells interest is more than academic: he wants his state to rename its Presidents Day holiday and made his remarks during a hearing on that proposal. First in war, first in peace, first with a holidayThe federal holiday for Washington started in 1879, but the current date was fixed by law as of 1971.States, of course, have been left to their own devices for decades. Thirty-four still use some form of Washingtons name in their laws, while 19 use some form of Presidents Day. A few use both, while California law goes with the third Monday in February.Forty-seven states will celebrate a public holiday on Monday. Indiana and Georgia celebrate Washington by giving state workers the day after Christmas off. Delaware has no holiday. In 2009, its lawmakers started giving state employees two floating holidays instead of honoring individual presidents or having a Presidents Day, according to the state archives. Whats in a name? Plenty, some sayWashingtons Mount Vernon estate in Virginia wants to return to a federal holiday on his birthday. Its website says Washingtons character and accomplishments shouldnt be muddled by a vague holiday.A dozen states celebrating Washington by name make him share the day with someone else. In Alabama, Washington shares the spotlight with friend-turned-rival Thomas Jefferson, the nations third president and primary author of the Declaration of Independence. In Arkansas, its Daisy Gaston Bates, a civil rights leader best known for her work to integrate Little Rocks Central High School in 1957.Most often, its Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War president who sometimes outranks even Washington among historians for keeping the Union intact. Fourteen states have a separate holiday just for Lincoln. Most are on Honest Abes Feb. 12 birthday. Indiana honors him with a day off for state employees on the day after Thanksgiving, which Lincoln is often credited with starting in 1863. Other presidents have their days, tooA few states have special days for presidents identified with them: Herbert Hoover in Iowa, Dwight Eisenhower in Kansas, Harry Truman in Missouri, Lyndon Johnson in Texas and John F. Kennedy in Massachusetts.On JFKs May 29 birthday, his home state also honors favorite sons John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Calvin Coolidge, who was a Vermont farm boy before becoming Massachusetts governor and, later, the countrys 30th president.Since 1958 in Kentucky, Jan. 30 has been Franklin D. Roosevelt Day, though the president who guided the country out of the Great Depression and through most of World War II was a New Yorker. In Oklahoma, a Republican state senator has proposed a new holiday for Nov. 5, the anniversary of last years presidential election, to celebrate President Donald J. Trump Day. What if you had a holiday and people forgot?A presidential day doesnt necessarily inspire public fanfare. Take Herbert Hoover, whose Depression-marked White House work gets low marks from many historians, though he is highly regarded for nonpresidential humanitarian work. Iowa set aside a day for him in 1969, but it appears to get little notice outside Cedar County, the home of his presidential library. Most Iowans are not aware there is a Hoover Day, said Leo Landis, the state historical societys curator, who acknowledged in an email that he once was among them, despite living in Iowa for more than 45 years. First in reenactments?Presidential impersonators pop up in hundreds of places each year. Its not just Lincoln and Washington. The Association of Lincoln Presenters website even lists a portrayer for Rutherford B. Hayes, the often-neglected single-term 19th president. But Lincoln stands head, shoulders and stovepipe hat above the rest when it comes to presidents audiences want to see, and he dominates the associations roster of historical presenters.John Cooper, the associations president and a Lincoln impersonator himself, said that in scores of professional presentations since 2008, only two people have been displeased with meeting Lincoln. Honest Abe appeals to all groups and is many peoples favorite president, he said. Everybody is happy to see Lincoln, he said. When I go to a county fair, I usually dont have to wander far before I have people come up to me, and they want to talk and they want to get a picture. JOHN HANNA Hanna covers politics and state government in Kansas for The Associated Press. Hes worked for the AP in Topeka since 1986. twitter mailto