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Presidents Day |
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Back in Seventeen ninety-six
Is when this Holiday began
For the birthday of ol’ George
At least, that was the plan.
It was his last full year
Of his Presidency
Born February twenty-second
Or the Eleventh, because you see
The old calendar was different
Than the one we use today
And some celebrated one
Some people, on the other day.
By the early Nineteenth Century
Celebrated every year
Birth-night Balls were held
Taverns reveled in good cheer.
Public figures gave their speeches
And Receptions given by a few
Then along came ol’ Abe Lincoln
His Birthday, in February, too.
In eighteen and sixty-five
The year after Booth’s fatal shot
Both Houses of Congress gathered
For a Memorial, and solemn thought.
Not a Federal Holiday like George’s
But legal in more than one State
And then a Resolution was enacted
Back in Nineteen sixty-eight.
They made the third Monday of the month
To make for a three day weekend
To honor Washington and Lincoln
And this story comes to its end. |
By
Del “Abe” Jones
Copyright 2009
Listed June 2, 2009 |
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