Presidents Day 2022 In Arlington: What's Open, Closed

ARLINGTON, MA — Presidents Day was established by Congress decades ago to move the celebration of George Washington's birthday to the third Monday of February. This year, the holiday lands on Feb. 21, meaning banks, post offices and other services will be closed.

Presidents Day doesn't officially include Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12, which was celebrated by a handful of states.

The 16th U.S. president was born in 1809 in LaRue County, Kentucky, though his birth state isn’t one of the five — Lincoln’s adopted state of Illinois plus California, Connecticut, Missouri and New York — that observe his birthday as a holiday.

In the public consciousness, though, Lincoln’s birthday is spun in with that of the first U.S. president, George Washington, and is observed on the third Monday in February. This year, that’s on Feb. 21. Technically, though, the holiday observed on the third Monday of February commemorates Washington’s birth on Feb. 22, 1732.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971 doesn’t mention Lincoln’s birthday or even Presidents Day. Some lawmakers argued during debate that Washington’s birthday should be renamed Presidents Day to include Lincoln, but Congress rejected that.

Before the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971, Washington’s birthday was celebrated on the anniversary of his birth, regardless of the day of the week.

Here's what will be open and closed in Arlington this year:

• Retail stores: Open.
• Liquor stores: Open.
• Supermarkets: Open.
• Convenience stores: Open.
• Restaurants, bars: Open.
• Banks: Closed.
• Stockmarket: Closed.
• Municipal, state, federal offices: Closed.
• Libraries: Closed.
• Schools: Closed. Winter recess through Feb. 25.
• Mail: U.S. Postal Service closed.
• MBTA: Commuter rail is on a weekend service schedule. The subway, bus and RIDE systems are on a Saturday schedule.
• Trash Collection: Delayed one day (Monday picked up on Tuesday, Tuesday picked up on Wednesday, Wednesday picked up on Thursday, Thursday picked up on Friday and Friday picked up on Saturday).