The third Monday in February is set aside to commemorate the birthdays of two great American presidents, both born in this month: Abraham Lincoln on the 12th and George Washington on the 22nd. It is a legal holiday. George Washington has been honored in various ways: he is the only American president after whom a state, as well as the capital of the country — Washington, DC — has been named. Their homes, George Washington’s in Mount Vernon, Virginia and Abraham Lincoln’s in Springfield, Illinois, have been museums open to the public for many years now. Cherry pie is a traditional dessert on Washington’s birthday. According to legend, when Washington was a little boy, his father asked him who could have chopped down his favorite cherry tree. George answered, “I cannot tell a lie. It was I, Father, with my little axe.”