Veterans Day

On the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in the year 1918, all major fighting in World War I were to cease with the signing of the Armistice. November 11, 1918, was then referred to as Armistice Day.

I bet you're thinking: what a coincidence! It's also Veterans Day! True. But it wasn't always Veterans Day.

In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as a holiday. But then a few years went without much mention of the holiday. In 1926, Congress asked President Collidge to observe November 11 with ceremonies. It wasn't until 1938 that Congress passed a law making November 11 a legal holiday, calling it Armistice Day. In 1953, Alvin King urged his town Emporia, Kansas, to celebrate November 11 as "All" Veterans Day instead of just celebrating it for vets of World War I. The Chamber of Commerce joined in and 90% of businesses in the town closed their doors. Representative Ed Rees helped introduce the measure in Congress, and on May 26, 1954, President Eisenhower signed the bill into law. A few days later, the name "Armistice Day" was replaced with "Veterans Day", as a way of celebrating all American veterans of war. In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday in October in 1971, but it was moved back to November 11 in 1978.

Although the holiday is celebrated all across the world, the name of the holiday changes depending on where you are located. In America, we call it Veterans Day, which replaced the original name Armistice Day (after the Armistice signed between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers). Overseas, it is still known as Armistice Day in some places. Remembrance Day is another name for this holiday. This is celebrated in Commonwealth countries (most of which are former parts of the British Empire), which include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, etc. Poppy Day is another name for this holiday overseas because of the the poem "In Flanders Fields", and the red poppy which has become a symbol of Remembrance Day.

Many people have ravioli on Veterans Day because after World War I, President Wilson invited 2000 soldiers into the White House to have a home cooked meal, and ravioli had recently become easily available because of commercial canning.

And one more note about Veterans Day. Grammatically, it is correct to say Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day. If you are speaking of one veteran, then the first is correct, and if you are speaking of many veterans, than the second is correct. The US government has declared that the attributive spelling without the apostrophe is the official spelling, and not the possessive spelling with the apostrophe.

Bet you didn't know that!