Why NJ needs this rare new February holiday

There has been a lot of talk recently regarding the big holiday in February. And no, we're not talking about Valentine's Day.

Nor are we talking about the Monday after the Super Bowl. Although to be honest, that would make a lot of sense considering how big the Super Bowl is in New Jersey.

Before we talk about the potential of a new, rare holiday in New Jersey, let's first get into the issue with February's biggest official holiday. The one that comes up on the third Monday of every year.

President's Day has long been one of those banker holidays, where not everyone gets the day off. Of course, there are always some exceptions. But by and large, this day is often overlooked.

When it comes to being a paid holiday, or one where you'll make time and a half, President's Day just isn't one of them for all.

Over the years, it seems like fewer and fewer companies want to include it as one of their observed days for employees. Not only that, but the holiday has become more commercialized than ever.

And the evidence to support this? Just look at how many car dealers go all out on Presidents Day sales.

But that's only one part of it. Schools seem to also be chipping away at it. Instead of being closed, some schools in New Jersey have decided to hold classes to make up snow days.

So the bottom line is this. Even though we'll always have President's Day, not everyone will get to enjoy it or receive extra pay for working that day. At least, not in the same manner as they would on Memorial Day, Fourth of July, or New Year's Day.

With that said, why don't we create a new holiday that everyone could enjoy? Whether it be off from work, or an opportunity to make more money, we deserve to have that for all during the winter months.

Fortunately, there is an opportunity. And it's one that rarely comes up. So rare, in fact, that we'll only be able to celebrate it once every four years.

Why not add a leap year holiday in New Jersey? A day that guarantees everyone an opportunity to be off, or receive additional holiday pay for working the day.

It certainly would be an easy day to budget since it would only come up once every four years. And, being it's a bonus day in the year, we should be allowed to enjoy the rare occurrence.

February 29 is also a big day for those who were born on a leap year on that day. If anything, they should have that day as an extra big celebration.

By the way, happy birthday to anyone born on February 29. Hopefully, this will become an official holiday for you.

So that would be the rare new holiday we should allowed to celebrate, but there is something else that's been suggested in the past that could also make a difference in the month of February.

For this one, we have to go back to the third Monday of the month. Perhaps making this move would help make President's Day a much stronger holiday for everyone.

Why not just move the Super Bowl to the Sunday before President's Day? It's already been moved to the before the holiday, why not make them the same?

Being the Super Bowl is such a big event nationally, it only makes sense to group it in with what already is a holiday weekend. We could even call it a Super President's Day weekend.

If we did that, it might finally encourage employers who don't fully acknowledge President's Day Monday to finally do so. On top of that, maybe it would discourage New Jersey schools from using President's Day as a makeup snow day.

Of course, that's a secondary argument. The primary one would be to officially make a leap year holiday to be celebrated on February 29.

A bonus day for all of us that would come up once every four years. It's a bonus day anyway, so why not treat it as such?

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.