Check your calendar. You will find the third Monday in February is Presidents’ Day, a holiday you may know to recognize the achievements of all past U．S. presidents. Do you know the history behind this holiday?

After George Washington died in 1799, his supporters began recognizing his birthday, February 22, as a day of remembrance for America’s first president.(At least, those who used the Gregorian calendar did. The Julian calendar said he was born on February 11.) Washington’s birthday became a federal (联邦的) holiday for the District of Columbia in 1879 and for the rest of the country in 1885.

Then in 1968, Congress (国会) introduced the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill (法案), which hoped to change certain federal holidays from special dates to Mondays, creating more three­day weekends. The idea was that more long weekends would make people work hard during shorter workdays.

The bill also wanted to combine (结合) Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays into one holiday (some states, like Illinois, already celebrated Lincoln’s birthday, February 12). Illinois Senator Robert McClory suggested this holiday be called “Presidents’ Day”. In 1971, the bill passed, and President Richard Nixon made an order that the third Monday in February should be now a holiday. Here’s the thing though: According to the United States laws, that holiday is still called Washington’s Birthday. The name never officially changed to Presidents’ Day. But since the laws allowed local governments and private businesses to name federal holidays whatever they want, most states call it Presidents’ Day. Many stores also make use of this second name to boost February sales.

Two other presidents celebrated birthdays in February, William Henry Harrison (February 9) and Ronald Reagan (February 6)．

Interesting festivals in the world

Let’s play games from different countries and learn about different cultures.

It is played alone with five small sandbags. The player kneels down behind the sandbags, throws one in the air, then uses the same hand to quickly pick up another bag and catch the first. Keep going until you’re holding all five. Too easy? Throw up all the bags and catch them on the back of your hand.

Fengzhengs or kites are believed to have been invented in China during the fifth century BC by Mozi and Lu Ban. By the fifth century AD, paper kites were being used for military purposes such as signaling and measuring distances. These days, locals commonly fly handmade kites to mark the arrival of spring. In Beijing, the kite string is traditionally cut to allow bad luck to be blown away by the wind.

Germany is the world’s top exporter of chocolate, so no wonder this game is based on the sweet reward. Put some chocolate under an overturned cooking pot. Kids take turns crawling on the ground blindfolded and lightly strike whatever’s in their path with a wooden spoon. When the spoon hits the pot, the chocolate hunter gathers up the treasure.

It is a favorite group circle game for kids. One plays el gato (the cat); another is el raton (the mouse). The rest hold hands, forming a circle around the mouse. As the group skips and sings “the cat wants to get the mouse”, the cat runs outside the circle trying to touch the mouse. The players forming the circle raise and lower their arms to block the cat, and the mouse runs around to avoid being touched. When the cat “gets” the mouse, start over with a new cat and mouse.