Veterans Day

veterans-day-imageVeterans Day is a day dedicated to remembering and celebrating the memory of the veterans who sacrificed themselves for our country.  Veterans Day hasn’t always been known as Veterans Day.  The day used to be called Armistice Day but that was changed in 1938 because the word Armistice only referred to those that fought in World War One.  By 1938 World War Two had already happened so the 83rd U.S. Congress removed the word Armistice and replaced it with the word Veterans.

Veterans Day was set as a legal holiday on November 11, 1918 right after World War One ended, that is when it was called Armistice Day.  The reason that Veterans Day used to be called Armistice Day is because on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 an armistice, or a truce, was called between Germany and the Allied nations. 

In 1968, a Uniforms Holiday Bill guaranteed a three day weekend for four national holidays on Mondays for federal employees.  The four national holidays were: Veterans Day, Columbus Day, Memorial Day, and Washington’s Birthday.  Many states did not agree with the decision to get Mondays off for these holidays and would celebrate them on their original dates. On September 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed A law  to make Veterans Day always on November 11th beginning in 1978.

On August 4, 2001, a law was passed making November 11 through November 17 National Veterans Awareness Week.  During this week, schools must educate their students about the contributions made by the veterans.

Many people get Veterans Day and Memorial Day confused but there are actually quite a few differences between them.  The main difference between the two holidays is Memorial Day is remembering those who died in war, whereas Veterans Day is honoring those who have fought for our country whether they are dead or alive.

Hopefully you have learned something about Veterans Day in this post, to learn more click here.  Also, if there is anything that you know about Veterans Day that you would like to share please comment it below!

I got my photo from: https://www.dogonews.com/2015/11/9/celebrating-veterans-day

4 comments

  1. I think that veterans day is a very important day for Americans, for we pay respect to those who served to protect Americans.

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