Which US President:
- had states, babies, seven mountains, eight streams, nine colleges and 33 counties named after him?
- has a national holiday for his birthday (February 22nd)?
- has an image of his face carved 60 feet tall in granite?
- was elected President two times, unopposed?
Of course, the answer is our first President, George Washington. This man is so honored by our nation that we celebrate his birthday each year. The first public occasion of celebrating Washington’s birthday was in New York in 1784.
Washington’s early education came from his mother and father, and his curriculum consisted of history, penmanship, moral character, respect for scholarship, mathematics, the Bible, and literature. His later education was with Col. William Fairfax who had one of the best educations that England could offer and an extensive library. With Fairfax, Washington attained the equivalent of a university education and was considered “the best educated man of his time.”
In establishing the example of love of country first, he served as the commander of the Army without pay and was only reimbursed for expenses. He was known as a “humble, earnest Christian” who studied the scriptures to pattern his life.
Currently in the US, Washington’s birthday, along with Abraham Lincoln’s, is celebrated on the third Monday in February as a federal holiday. However, Washington’s Farewell Address is read every year in the Senate on February 22.
Edited from Celebrate Our Christian Holidays Like You Were There, by Max Lyons Ph.D., “George Washington’s Birthday, February 22”, Biblical Thinker, LLC, 2012.