It’s a representation of how us Americans talk - we rarely say 26th of February and instead say February 26 - and if necessary tack on the year. It feels exceptionally awkward to say 26 February, thought saying “twenty twenty one February 26” sounds very strange, too.
But people are very good at verbally saying different than is written.
So write YYYY-MM-DD!
But also, the most sacret of all days has been honored by the one day of the year "said properly" fourth of july!
Changing formats is just asking for a large event on 9 November.
No native speaker but isn't 4th of July more common than July 4th?
You could even say "The Fourth" and almost all Americans would understand. I think that's why; [begin speculation] it's such an exceptional date it necessitates saying it differently.
The Fourth of July and Cinco de Mayo are exceptional days.
Tax day is the ides of April, but we just say April 15th.
I wonder how it started? A skim of the internets hasn’t enlightened me.