by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Monday marked one of the most complicated holidays of the year.
Commonly referred to as “Presidents Day,” the legal name, according to Section 6103(a) of Title 5 of the United States Code, is “Washington’s Birthday.”
Prior to 1971, Feb. 22, the day George Washington was born, was observed as a federal holiday no matter what day of the week it was on.
In 1968, the 90th Congress decided to create a more uniform system of federal Monday holidays and voted to move the recognition of the first president from Feb. 22 to the third Monday in February, effective three years later.
While the federal government accepted the change for convenience, there was not agreement among states as to what to call the holiday or what to do about their traditional observances of Washington’s actual birthday and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12.
Several states, including California, Idaho, Tennessee and Texas, adopted the title “Presidents Day,” which was soon embraced by marketers looking for an excuse for a three-day shopping-oriented holiday two months after Christmas.
The third Monday in February is a day off for many people and that makes it one of the most well-attended days of the year at the Museum of Science & History on the Southbank.
“It’s always one of our busy days because the kids are out of school and their parents have the day off, too,” said Kristi Taylor, MOSH spokeswoman.
In addition to three floors of exhibits, museum visitors also received a brief civics lesson about the lives of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. How the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government work together to enact laws was also part of the curriculum.
After the program, visitors headed for the permanent and feature exhibits, including the latest offering in the Loft Gallery, “The Shell: 530 Million Years of Inspired Design.”
It was curated by Harry Lee, a physician, member of the Jacksonville Shell Club and author of a book about the shells found in North Florida. He’ll give a lecture on the subject March 3.
For details and admission and membership information, call 396-MOSH or visit www.themosh.org.
356-2466