What’s Open, Closed On Presidents Day 2020 In Fairfax City

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Presidents Day will be Monday, and a variety of services will be closed in Fairfax City and the surrounding area on the day. In Virginia, though, the official state holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February is named George Washington Day or George Washington's Birthday.

The holiday, which was originally established in 1885 to honor President George Washington, will provide a much-appreciated three-day weekend for many. But it also means that services such as the U.S. Post Office, banks and public schools will not open on the day.

Here’s a breakdown of how the holiday could affect your routine:

Fairfax City Government Offices: Closed Feb. 17.

State Courts: Circuit Court, General District Court and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court are closed Feb. 17.

Fairfax City Schools: Closed Feb. 17.

Trash & Recycling: Monday and Tuesday refuse and recycling routes will be collected Feb. 18.

Waste and Recycling Drop-off Centers: Closed Feb. 17.

City of Fairfax Regional Library: All Fairfax County libraries are closed Feb. 17.

Post Offices: Closed Feb. 17.

CUE Bus: Modified weekday service

DMV Select services: Closed Feb. 17.

Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center: Open

The transition in the holiday’s name from Washington’s Birthday to Presidents Day began in the late 1960s as part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The bill proposed that the country celebrate holidays on Monday rather than when birthdays fell on the calendar so workers could have a three-day weekend.

During the debate of that bill, it was proposed that Washington’s Birthday be renamed Presidents Day to celebrate the birthdays of both Washington on Feb. 22 and President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12.

Congress actually rejected the name change in the 1968 version of the bill. However, after the bill went into effect in 1971, Presidents Day became the commonly accepted name.

According to the operators of George Washington's Mount Vernon estate in Fairfax County, the U.S. government never officially changed the name. In the 1980s, owing to advertising campaigns for holiday sales, the term became popularized and largely accepted.

"This joint recognition would also celebrate President Lincoln's February 12 birthday within the same period," the Mount Vernon website says, "but arguably, George Washington (the Father of our country) deserves his own day."