Post offices in the United States will close for one day next week to observe a national holiday.
Presidents Day is Monday, February 17, and it is a federal holiday, which means that government offices, as well as the United States Postal Service and post office branches, will be closed. No mail will be delivered on that day, though FedEx and UPS will provide service on a modified schedule.
Presidents Day is the third postal holiday of the year, after New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. The remaining schedule contains:
- May 26 – Memorial Day
- June 19 – Juneteenth National Independence Day
- July 4- Independence Day
- Sept. 1- Labor Day
- Oct. 13- Columbus Day
- Nov. 11- Veterans Day
- Nov. 27 – Thanksgiving Day
- Dec. 25- Christmas Day
History of Presidents Day
The idea for a day to honor George Washington, America’s first president, dates back to the 1870s, when Sen. Steven Wallace Dorsey proposed adding Washington’s birthday (February 22) to the list of existing holidays. President Rutherford B. Hayes signed the Washington Holiday Act into law in 1879.
In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, which moved Washington’s birthday to the third Monday in February.
Following the Civil War, many Northern states included Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, in their official celebrations. Lincoln’s birthday was February 12.
On a federal level, however, the day remains officially known as Washington’s birthday. The day is generally known as Presidents Day, and it honors all of the United States’ elected leaders.
