Monday, Feb. 20 is Presidents Day, a time set aside to honor the leaders of our country, especially George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, the first president, was born Feb. 22, 1732. Lincoln, the 16th president, was born Feb. 12, 1809. Washington's birthday was first celebrated as national holiday on Feb. 22, 1885 but was moved in 1971 to the third Monday in February as part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which put most federal holidays on Mondays so workers could enjoy three-day weekends. The change also tied Lincoln to the official celebration, though official designations for the holiday vary from state to state.
Here's a look at what's open and what's closed on Presidents Day 2017:
U.S. Postal Service - No mail delivered, post offices closed
UPS, Fed Ex - Open with normal schedule
Amazon - Processing orders but there may be shipping delays
Banks - Most banks will be closed
Financial markets - Financial markets, including the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, are closed. The Federal Reserve is closed so if your bank is open, most items won't be able to processed until the next day.
Courts - Federal, state and local courts are closed.
Schools - Most public schools are closed, many private ones closed
State of Alabama - Presidents Day is a state holiday in Alabama, so all state offices are closed.
Shopping centers, retailers - Retail centers and stores are open. Many have sales for Presidents Day. Major retailers such as Walmart and Target are open.
ABC Stores - All ABC liquor stores will be open unless normally closed on Mondays.
State parks - Open
City, county offices - Schedules for city, county offices varies:
- Birmingham City offices - open
- Jefferson County offices -open
- Mobile City offices -open
- Mobile County offices - open
- Huntsville City - closed
- Madison County - closed