President's Day and the Passing Ceremony
Most people are unaware that President’s Day actually takes its name from an old American holiday. In that time, the day was referred to as “Presidents’ Day”—in honor of not only the sitting president, but also all who came before. Presidents’ Day was celebrated on the third Monday of February, in honor the very first American President, George Washington (whose birthday was February 22). Today, of course, we celebrate President’s Day—a day set aside for the commemoration of the current president, as well as the ushering in of the new. Naturally, the specific day varies from president to president, always falling on the eve of his or her eighteenth birthday.
The final event of President’s Day is the Passing Ceremony, where the president takes to the national airwaves and makes her official endorsement of who should be her successor. At her side are the leaders of each house of Congress. The endorsee is almost always one of these two (and almost always the eldest of the two), though this is not without historical exception. Three times in our history the outgoing president has chosen to endorse the younger of the two leaders; each time, that leader went on to win the election and assume the office, leaving the other to complete his service in the same Congressional leadership post as before. Once, the president endorsed someone else completely, a member of Congress with nearly three years of her service remaining. So began the Christos Incident, which eventually led to the adoption of a new law designating sixteen as the minimum age requirement for presidential candidates, in alignment with the age requirements governing the appointment of Congressional leaders. Jan Christos, the endorsee, became (and still is) the only Passing Ceremony endorsee to go on to lose the presidential election.
Once the president offers her blessing to her chosen endorsee, President's Day barrels on toward its inevitable conclusion. As midnight approaches, the President’s eyelids enter into the characteristic flutter, her cheeks taking on the familiar peachy hue whose appearance cannot be mistaken. And before the entire nation, she takes her final breath—stepping forever into the history books, as time continues its merciless march forward.
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