How the Date Is Determined
Veterans Day is easy to find: it is the same date every year, November 11.
Veterans Day is always November 11. It marks the day World War I fighting stopped, under the armistice (the agreement that ended the fighting). It does not move to a Monday. As a federal holiday, it follows the standard rule. When November 11 falls on a Saturday, federal employees observe it on Friday the 10th. When it falls on a Sunday, they observe it on Monday the 12th. The official spelling has no apostrophe, since the day belongs to all veterans, not just one.
History
Fighting in World War I ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, November 11, 1918. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day in 1919. Congress made it a federal holiday in 1938. After World War II and Korea, Alabama veteran Raymond Weeks pushed to honor all who served. He organized the first "National Veterans Day" event in Birmingham in 1947. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the law renaming the holiday Veterans Day. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act (a 1968 law that moved several holidays to Mondays) shifted it to the fourth Monday of October starting in 1971. The change proved very unpopular. President Gerald Ford signed a 1975 law returning it to November 11, effective 1978.
Traditions and Celebrations
Veterans Day honors all U.S. veterans, living and dead. That is unlike Memorial Day, which honors those who died in service. The national ceremony takes place at 11 a.m. at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, with a presidential wreath-laying. Cities hold parades, led by New York's, the nation's largest. Many restaurant chains offer veterans free meals. Schools host assemblies with veteran speakers. A 2016 law encourages two minutes of silence at 2:11 p.m. Eastern.
Planning Around Veterans Day
Federal offices, post offices, and banks close on the actual or observed date, and the bond market pauses. But stock markets stay open, and most private businesses run normally. School closures vary by state and district. The date is fixed, so it makes a long weekend only in years when it falls on or next to one.