President's Day Costumes & Accessories. Celebrated on the third Monday of February, Presidents' Day is a national holiday in the United States. Once a celebration of George Washington's birthday the holiday was renamed in 1971 by President Richard Nixon to honor all past US presidents. The country first celebrated the birthday of George Washington during the last full year he was president in 1796. One year after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, both houses of Congress gathered for a memorial address on his birthday, February 12 in 1866. Although Lincoln's birthday became a holiday in many states, it never became an official federal holiday. President Chester Arthur made Washington's birthday a federal holiday in 1885. Congress passed legislation moving the observance of George Washington's birthday from February 22 to the third Monday in February taking effect in 1971. Some people think that the legislation combined the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington to create Presidents' Day but, the holiday is still officially called Washington's Birthday.
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