Washington's Birthday, 2011

I know. Some of you thought today was "Presidents' Day." Don't let that bother you. Some of you believe in the Loch Ness Monster, UFOs, and that Elvis works at a Burger King in Michigan.

Where I come from, we usually look at such people and say "Bless their heart." That's Georgia-speak for "What a dumbass."

I know, the calendar you got at the kiosk at the mall has "Presidents Day" written in the little block for today. Well, about those people that made that calendar? Bless their heart.

I know, all the TV and radio ads talk about "Presidents Day" sales going on today. Those people that wrote those commercials? Bless their heart.

Today's a federal holiday. And, it's "Washington's Birthday." Take a look at United States Code 5 U.S.C. 6103 and see what it says. Sure enough, it says "Washington's Birthday."

Now, the truth is that George Washington's birthday isn't until tomorrow. In fact, the official federal holiday for Washington's Birthday never falls on his actual birthday. Who else but the government could screw up a birthday so bad? And some folks want them in charge of health care. Bless their heart.

Why do I make a big deal about what today is called? Because I think it's bad idea to ignore history. George Washington was actually a pretty important guy in American history. Important enough to actually give a holiday for his birthday.

George Washington

George Washington was born on February 11, 1731. You see, the colony of Virginia, like all of Great Britain, was using the Julian calendar at the time. When Britain and the colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, a lot of dates changed. New Years Day moved from March 25 to January 1, and 11 days disappeared. You can read all about that craziness here.

The upshot is that the old style date of February 11, 1731 became February 22, 1732. And that's George Washington's birthday.

George Washington became a surveyor, joined the Virginia militia, fought in the Seven Years War (AKA the French and Indian War), married a rich widow, fooled around a lot, and became a successful businessman.

As tensions mounted between the colonies and the British Crown, Washington led the American forces in the Revolutionary War, culminating in the British surrender and recognition of the United States of American as a soverign nation. After several unsuccessful governments were established under the Articles of Confederation, a new Constitution was adopted in 1787 (ratified in 1788). The presidential electors unanimously selected Washington as the first President, the only person ever so honored.

Washington served two terms, retired, and lived a quiet life until 1799.

As a military officer and a statesman and politician, Washington was one of the most respected Americans. And, his birthday was celebrated by the states. In 1879, Washington's Birthday became the fifth federal holiday, joining New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

Holiday confusion

In 1968, the movement to change many holidays to a nearby Monday began. In 1971, Richard Nixon issued Executive Order 11582, beginning that process. Still, the holiday is officially Washington's Birthday, and has always been Washington's Birthday. (Snopes has a write-up about this, too, by the way.)

Some states observed Abraham Lincoln's birthday (February 12). Some still might. And some people got the idea that the new federal holiday in February was for Washington and Lincoln. Bless their heart.

Somewhere along the way, people began to call today's holiday "Presidents' Day." Whether by design or not, it contributes to the ignorance of Americans. It ignores the importance of George Washington. And it causes many Americans to either forget or never understand the contributions of George Washington in the formation of this great country.

So, I wish you a very pleasant Washington's Birthday today. Some of you are off work. Others, like me, have a regular work day. Whatever your plans are, take some time to remember George Washington.

And, if you're celebrating Presidents Day today? Bless your heart.

Microsoft hates America!

The other day, I ran into a situation with a date field on a Website. Someone who I was telling about the issue (it involved ColdFusion and a valid time value) was inspired to research valid date-time fields in databases. And, as it turns out, Microsoft SQL Server has date limitations.

For instance, you can't store a date prior to January 1, 1753 in a Microsoft SQL database.
You may ask, why would I want to store a date prior to January 1, 1753 in a database? Well, if your database is on American history, or about great Americans, then you just might need that.

George Washington's birthday was February 22, 1732 (or, February 11, 1731 O.S.) -- which means you can't store George Washington's birthday in a Microsoft database!

The Father of our Country! First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen! Our nation's first president under the Constitution! Microsoft won't let you store his birthday in their databases? That's outrageous!

Why does Microsoft hate America?

Washington's Birthday, 2009

It's Washington's Birthday.

Okay, it's not really, but today's the day we officially observe Washington's Birthday in the U.S.

What's that? You thought it was "Presidents Day?" Why would you think that?

Oh, someone told you that? You read it on a calendar? Some newshead on TV said it?

Guess what? They're wrong. And they probably don't even know it. Living in their own ignorance. Probably Obama voters.

Let's clear up this whole "Presidents Day" thing first.

In 1968, the federal government started screwing around with holidays. They decided that it was more convenient and cost-effective to observe holidays on a Monday. The holidays they had in mind were Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day.

When the bill went into effect in 1971, things went all kaflooey.

Some wondered what happened to Lincoln's Birthday. Turns out, it was never a federal holiday, although lots of states celebrated it. Georgia, for instance, had February 12th as a state holiday. Of course, it was the anniversary of the founding of Georgia ("Georgia Day"), so it'd have been a holiday if Lincoln had never been born.

Anyway, there was a newspaper spoof in 1971 that mentioned "Presidents Day," taking advantage of the whole "where'd Lincoln go" thing. But, Executive Order 11582 said nothing about "Presidents Day." The actual wording of United States Code (5 U.S.C. 6103) says "Washington's Birthday."

You can read more at the urban legends Website Snopes.

So there.

Now, let's talk about George Washington.

If you're not celebrating his birthday, you must be a communist. Or British. Or some other kind of foreigner. Or an Obama voter. Or, more likely, two of those.

George Washington was born February 11, 1732. You see, Virginia, a British colony at the time, used the Julian calendar. And, when Augustine and Mary Ball Washington added that little bundle of joy, that's what the calendar said.

When England joined the rest of the civilized world by adopting the Gregorian calendar in 1752, George Washington's birthday became February 11 O.S. and February 22 N.S. That's "old style" and "new style." Eventually, "new style" fell out of usage, though the calendar stayed.

George Washington became a surveyor, joined the Virginia militia, fought in the Seven Years War (AKA the French and Indian War), married a rich widow, fooled around a lot, and became a successful businessman.

As tensions mounted between the colonies and the British Crown, Washington led the American forces in the Revolutionary War, culminating in the British surrender and recognition of the United States of American as a soverign nation. After several unsuccessful governments were established under the Articles of Confederation, a new Constitution was adopted in 1789. The presidential electors unanimously selected Washington as the first President, the only person ever so honored.

Washington served two terms, retired, and lived a quiet life until 1799.

Then, nearly a century and three-quarters after he died, the very government he helped found started screwing around with his birthday again. It's now officially observed on the 3rd Monday in February. Which means it can be as early as the 15th, and as late as the 21st. But never on his real birthday, the 22nd.

It takes a government to really screw something up.

Still, it's the best government we have. Still. If we can keep it.