No kiddies, contrary to popular belief, Martin Luther King, Jr. was NOT born on the third Monday of January, he was born on January 15, which just so happened to be a Tuesday in 1929.
The idea of a holiday on the third Monday in January was a fabrication of the government, not unlike the celebration of the birth of Jesus on December 25 was an arbitrary decision made in the year 221 to brighten up the darkest part of the year.
Far as I can figure, someone, somewhere, wanted a three-day weekend in January, and jumped right on the bandwagon when MLK Jr. appeared on the horizon. Fine by me, but I’m a little torqued that “they” took away Washington and Lincoln’s individual days and lumped them both together for “Presidents’ Day,” but MLK now gets a day all to himself. Perhaps “they” should revisit the founding concept and make the third Monday in January a “Civil Rights Day” or something slightly more generic than singling out one guy’s birthday, no matter how important he was.
And after that, since Jesus was most likely born in September anyway, how about making December 25 a “Bring Back the Light Day,” which could honor and validate all important religious prophets and other figures as well as the Pagan tradition of celebrating the winter solstice?
Oh, I can already hear the fallout from this idea, but some days I just like to stir the pot. If this bothers you, just take a chill pill and take next Monday off.