February 6 Lame Duck Day

On February 6 we observe National Lame Duck Day, an “unofficial” holiday, that is not about a duck with an injury. It is a day that recognizes and celebrates elected officials who are about to leave their term in office. Their term has ended either by choice or because they were not re-elected.

Lame Duck Day has nothing to do with injured animals; rather, it’s about giving some support and recognition to people who are on their way out – last term’s political leaders, people who’ve been promoted or are moving away, and anybody who’s ineffective in their current position because their time is up.

Lame duck is a term usually reserved for politics in many democratic countries. It refers to a person or a group of people who are nearing the end of their elected term and will not be running for political office again.