As a kid I remember having Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays off from school in February every year. Since 1971 all of our presidents are ‘celebrated’ in a homogenized “President’s Day” on Washington’s birthday. A bill passed by Congress in 1968, called the “Uniform Monday Holiday Act,” consolidated the two birthdays and renamed it for the purpose of creating a three-day weekend.

It was fun having a day off from school but I don’t remember my parents making any effort to impress on me the importance of Washington or Lincoln to our way of life. I don’t fault them for that; I’m sure that they, like most Americans of that era, took for granted that an abiding sense of gratitude and freedom would be passed along through our shared culture and values. However, their lack of concern to pass along the weight of Washington’s and Lincoln’s contributions to the life and preservation of our union is reflected in the formal law passed by Congress — along with others that have shifted the priorities of what we choose to recognize.

For the sake of convenience and leisure, we anonymized two holidays and lumped the two luminaries in with every other president we’ve had. It’s the principle of the participation trophy: if everyone is special, then no one is special.

Exactly what — and who — are we celebrating on President’s Day? Are we just observing the fact that we have presidents? Is that somehow noble? More noble than kings or prime ministers?

Is that worth a day off?

Are all of our presidents worthy of celebrating? Are some more worthy than others? Do we really want to lump the likes of Carter and Obama in with true statesmen like Washington and Lincoln?

My advice to families with young children: make it a point to emphasize the lives and impact of Washington and Lincoln and why they are worth remembering. Add Reagan in there, too.

If I had my way, I’d go back to celebrating Washington and Lincoln separately. If Mondays are still important, give us two three-day weekends in February — one for Washington and one for Lincoln. But if you can’t do that, then get rid of “President’s Day” altogether. It’s meaningless and makes a mockery of the observances we used to have.