The History of Veterans Day
Every year on November 11, we celebrate Veterans Day to honor those who have served and protected our nation. The holiday began as Armistice Day, which marked the end of World War I as the allied forces and Germany agreed to a ceasefire.
We started commemorating Armistice Day in 1919. Then, in 1926, Congress declared that Armistice Day would become an “annual observance.”
The day became a national holiday in 1938 and in 1954 Congress amended their resolution by swapping out the word ‘Armistice’ for ‘Veterans,’ and we’ve been celebrating it ever since.
Well, except for that time when the Veterans Day date was changed.
Why Veteran's Day Date Changed
In 1968, Congress ratified the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved several holidays so that they fell on Mondays, giving federal employees three day weekends.
One of the moved holidays was Veterans Day, the first of which was commemorated on Monday, October 25, 1971. People didn’t care for the change and many continued observing the holiday on November 11.
The number 11 is actually very important for Veterans day as its a reference to the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when World War 1 formally ended, so changing it to October didn't go over well.
Luckily, President Gerald R. Ford nullified the ratification in 1975 and in 1978 Veterans Day was officially held on November 11 once more.
Veterans Day & Memorial Day
Veterans Day often gets confused with Memorial Day, but the two are not the same. For one, Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May—Veterans Day is fixed and always occurs on November 11.
But the most distinguishing factor that differentiates Veterans Day from Memorial Day is that Veterans Day honors all armed forces while Memorial Day honors those who have passed away while in service.
Other countries also celebrate their own versions of Veterans Day by honoring their service members. Both Canada and Australia observe "Remembrance Day" on November 11 while Britain celebrates their own Remembrance Day on the Sunday that falls closest to November 11.
Dog lovers will be thrilled to know that the canines who protect and serve also get their own Veterans Day on March 13. Although the holiday is unofficial, many observe it to honor the K-9 Corps which was founded in 1942 during World War II.
There are several ways to honor our armed forces on Veterans Day—you can hold your own moment of silence or participate in the national two minutes of silence based on your local time zone.
According to VeteranAid.org, "moments of silence begin at: 3:11 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time; 2:11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time; 1:11 p.m. Central Standard Time; 12:11 Mountain Standard Time; 11:11 Pacific Standard Time; 10:11 a.m. Alaska Standard Time; 9:11 a.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time."
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