For many, President’s Day means nothing more than a three day weekend and shopping, but the holiday was originally meant to commemorate our country’s founding father—President George Washington.

Originally signed into law by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1879 and implemented in 1880, the federal holiday was the first to single out a citizen’s birthdate and only impacted District of Columbia federal workers at the time.

In 1885, President Grover Cleveland signed a law extending the holiday to all federal workers in thirty-eight states, according to the National Archives and Records Administration.

Less than a century later, the holiday was moved to the third Monday of February, largely spurred by the belief the shift would reduce governmental employee absenteeism, allow citizens more time with their families and lead to increased industrial and commercial production, according to Congressional Record.

Encouraged by these ideas the Nineteenth Congress of the United States passed the Uniformed Monday Holiday Law in 1968, officially moving Washington’s holiday to Monday as well as three others: Columbus Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Though, due to its importance to many Americans especially those who served their country, Veterans Day was returned to Nov.11 in 1978 to once again coincide with Armistice Day, which also commemorates the end of hostilities in World War I.

How did the name of the holiday change? The original idea for changing the name of the holiday was presented by Representative Robert McClory, a Republican from Illinois, who was given the task of propelling the 1968 Monday Holiday Law bill through the House Judiciary Committee, according to the National Archives.

According to an article in the National Archives quarterly magazine, Prologue, McClory championed for the holiday to commemorate both Washington and President Abraham Lincoln, who was from McClory’s home state of Illinois. Had he been successful, McClory’s would have won recognition for “the land of Lincoln.”

William Moore McCulloch, a Republican representative from Ohio who was against the President’s Day amendment, stated “this [naming the day "President's Day"] would be unwise. Certainly, not all Presidents are held in the same high esteem as the Father of our Country. There are many who are not inclined to pay their respects to certain Presidents.”

Unfortunately for McClory, the amendment to the bill fell short of the votes needed to officially change the name. McClory did get one concession, since the third Monday of February was chosen; the holiday fell between Lincoln’s birthday of Feb. 12 and of Washington’s on Feb.22. According to an article in the National Archives quarterly magazine, Prologue, McClory purposely positioned the holiday on that date knowing “the dual presidential birthday spotlight could be shared by Lincoln.”

However, since federal holidays only impact the District of Columbia and the federal government, states are allowed to decide their own legal holidays.

In California, Texas, Alaska, Massachusetts and several other states, we celebrate President’s Day, which is meant to commemorate both President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln.

Other states have separate holidays for both, or the day commemorates Washington’s birthday alone. On the federal level, only Washington’s birthday is recognized as a national holiday.

Additionally, the media’s commercialization of the name as a promotional tool further distanced the populace from the true roots of the holiday.  Advertisers began changing the name nationally, creating clever sales campaigns and catchy sound bites, and the holiday’s national historical relevance was lost.

Adding to the confusion, students of grammar placed the apostrophe after president between the “T” and the “S” believing the holiday was meant to signify more than one president, according to an article in the National Archives quarterly magazine, Prologue.