Hunter College Libraries

Since the College (and the Libraries) are closed this Friday, February 12 and Monday, February 15, it might be nice to know why. We all love long weekends, right? And it’s probably best not to question why we get a particular day or two off from the daily grind. But I always remember, growing up in Illinois, getting Casimir Pulaski Day off from school and I never learned who he was or why we got the day off.

So in an effort to make more mindful citizens out of us all, here are some places to get more information about Presidents’ Day (which is actually legally recognized as Washington’s Birthday by the U.S. government) and Lincoln’s Birthday, as well as other holidays.

Here is a list of U.S. holidays, which also helpfully indicates which are considered federal holidays and which are not: http://www.usa.gov/citizens/holidays.shtml

And prompted by a recent post on Hunter-L regarding the correct spelling of Presidents’ Day (Presidents, President’s…that pesky apostrophe), a little information from the National Archives about the actual legal holiday of Washington’s Birthday and how it has morphed into Presidents’ Day, as well as the controversy over the spelling  (Part 1 and Part 2):

http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/winter/gw-birthday-1.html

http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/winter/gw-birthday-2.html

Additionally, each state government decides what other holidays are observed each year, hence Illinois celebrating Casimir Pulaski Day (Illinois has a very large Polish population, particularly in Chicago). Here is a list of legal holidays in New York State:

http://www.cs.state.ny.us/attendance_leave/2010_legal_holidays.cfm

So educate yourself a little bit, and enjoy the long weekend!