Lincoln's Birthday
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| Lincoln's Birthday | |
 Abraham Lincoln |
|
| Official name | Birthday of President Abraham Lincoln |
|---|---|
| Also called | Lincoln's Birthday |
| Observed by | Illinois and various U.S. states |
| Type | Local |
| Significance | Honors 16th President of the United States |
| Date | February 12 |
| Related to | Presidents Day |
Lincoln's Birthday is a legal holiday in some U.S. states including Illinois, Connecticut, California and possibly others. It is observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809.
The day is marked by traditional wreath-laying ceremonies at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky, and at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. The latter has been the site of a ceremony ever since the Memorial was dedicated. Since that event in 1922, observances continue to be organized by the Lincoln Birthday National Commemorative Committee and by the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. A wreath is laid on behalf of the President of the United States, a custom also carried out at the gravesites of all US presidents on their birthdays. Lincoln's tomb is in Springfield, Illinois.
Many states that had formerly observed this holiday have created a joint holiday to honor both Lincoln and George Washington, sometimes calling it "Presidents Day". It coincides with the Federal holiday officially designated "Washington's Birthday", observed on the third Monday of February. There has never been an annual Federal holiday honoring Lincoln.
[edit] External links
- Illinois Code: State Holidays
- Connecticut: Legal Holidays and Standard of Time
- Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site
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