I hate to have to tell you this, but your friend is right. The federal holiday is officially called “Washington’s Birthday,” and it’s only observed as Presidents’ Day (or President’s Day or Presidents Day) in some states.For kind of a random day in February, the holiday’s history has some pretty interesting twists and turns. Washington’s birthday as a federal holiday goes back to 1885. At that time, it was observed on Feb. 22, what we believe to be George Washington’s actual birthday (the Julian calendar, not the Gregorian, was still in use when he was born, so it’s a little tricky).The move to the third Monday in February took effect in 1971 with a bill that established more federal holidays set on Mondays, ensuring more three-day weekends.There’s a lot more to how Abraham Lincoln’s birth