| Show FIRST CELEBRATION OF I WASHINGTONS BIRTHDAY I We may reckon Feb 22 as one of our oldest holidays for though no legislature had at that time set it apart as a legal holiday the regular celebration of Wash ingtons birthday began In 17S3 On Feb 22 of that year a party of gentlemen met In a tavern in New York One of them had written an ode on Washington another an-other brought a list of tracts still others had prepared speeches There was great feasting patriotic toasts were drunk and before the company went reeling and singing home they agreed to meet to pettr on every coming Feb 22 In honor of their countrys chief Other little knots of friends followed their example and before long the celebration became general Though not publicly recognized wherever there were a score or more of houses the people gladly devoted at least a few hours of the day to jollity ana good cheer Even the fisherman left his nets by the sea the carpenter his workshop the good housewife laid aside her knitting I and the shopkeeper left up his shutters best of all the master on that day kept no school The celebration of the day gradually grew In importance till in the beginning of this century It was almost the most distinguished day of the year Every theatre on that day brought ftb some new play and made Itself gay with flags I and transparencies Taverns spread their best cheer There were balls and bonfires I bon-fires barbecues and cannonading bell ringing feasting and toasts A glance over the gazettes and advertisers of that period shows that It was quite the end of March before they ceased to publish ac r counts of the festivities which had taken place In every city and town In the land Washington was born before the adoption adop-tion in England of the Gregorian calendar calen-dar and was therefore born on Feb 11 old style For a long time some of his enfodI le iIs r1nOfce most ardent admirers persisted in celebrating cele-brating this day rather than the 22nd We find as late as > 1795 certain counties In which men of the old school were un willing to adopt the new calendar at least so far as concerned the birthday of the Father of their Country |
