Abe's Day

Above, Abraham Lincoln depicted in a display at the Abraham Lincoln
 Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today is Lincoln's Birthday.

This is the day that the birth of the 16th president, President Abraham Lincoln, is commemorated. Some states still recognize it as a holiday, while others just observe Presidents' Day.

According to Wikipedia:

Lincoln's Birthday is a public holiday in some U.S. states, observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, California, Missouri, and New York observe the holiday.

In many other states, Lincoln's birthday is not celebrated separately, as a stand-alone holiday. Instead, Lincoln's birthday is combined with a celebration of President George Washington's birthday (also in February) and celebrated either along with the Federal holiday of Washington's Birthday or as Presidents' Day on the third Monday in February.

History

The earliest known observance of Lincoln's birthday occurred in Buffalo, New York, in either 1873 or 1874. Julius Francis (d. 1881), a Buffalo druggist, made it his life's mission to honor the slain president. He repeatedly petitioned Congress to establish Lincoln's birthday as a legal holiday.

Above, the Lincoln Family at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In many areas, the Republican Party commemorates Lincoln's Birthday with Lincoln Day Dinners as Lincoln was the first Republican president.