10 Things To Know About This Holiday
Our country will honor its veterans this November 11th, bringing a great sense of pride to our country by honoring the brave heroes who continue to fight for the freedom of our nation.Yet, many people are often confuse why do we celebrate this holiday and some are clueless of the history behind it. Here are 10 simple facts about why is important to thanked and commemorate our veterans on this special day.
1. Veterans Day was called “Armistice Day." In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed this day as the first commemoration with the following words, "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."
2. Other countries honor their veterans each year on November 11, although the name and types of commemorations are different.
3. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, an armistice went into effect and all fighting between the allied nations and Germany ceased.
4. It became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938 and on that same year on October 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower change Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
5. This holiday also marks the anniversary of the end of World War I.
6. The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.
7. Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls.
8. Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. This holiday celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who gave their lives and those who perished while in service.
9. While the holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, states that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling, "because it is not a day that 'belongs' to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans."
10.The celebration's main purpose is to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.
Facts and report attributed to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Web site