Why Do We Celebrate Veterans Day

Veterans Day is a federal holiday observed on 11th November every year in the United States of America in honor of all the military veterans who served the country. The tradition dates back to 11th November, 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed this day as the Armistice Day in honor of all war veterans of the World War I. Since then it is observed as a federal holiday in the United States of America. It's surprising that scores of people across the country are still oblivious as to why do we celebrate Veterans Day. Before we move on to its history to tell you why it is celebrated, let's have a look at some general facts about it.

Veterans Day: An Overview

On 11th November, 1918, the World War I finally came to an end with signing of the Armistice by the German forces. This day went down the history as one of the most crucial days for humanity. While the Americans celebrate this day as the Veterans Day, other nations celebrate it as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. In fact, what we know as the Veterans Days in the United States today was known as the Armistice Day until 1954 - when a new federal law replaced the word 'Armistice' with 'Veterans'. This day marked the beginning of the tradition of honoring all those Americans who participated in various wars for the United States, and not just the World War I veterans alone. Most of the people, especially the children, tend to remember Veterans Day as a federal holiday. The fact, however, is that there is a lot more to know about this day including why do we celebrate Veterans Day and how it all started. In order to get the answers for all these questions, you need to go through the history of veterans day which speaks in volumes about it.

Veterans Day History

As we mentioned earlier, it all began on 11th November, 1919, with Woodrow Wilson proclaiming this day as the Armistice Day in the United States. While declaring this day as a holiday, Wilson highlighted the fact that the day was observed to honor "the heroism of those who died in the country's service." Eventually, an Act passed on 13th May, 1938, made provisions for declaring 11th November every year a legal holiday in the country, and dedicated the day for the noble cause of world peace.

By 1954, the United States of America had participated in two major wars; the World War II and the Korean War, wherein several American soldiers lost their lives. Taking a note of this, the Veterans Administration urged the United States Congress to amend the Act of 1938 and replace the word Armistice with Veterans, thus making this day the Veterans Day. On 1st June, 1954, the Congress amended this act, and renamed this day from Armistice Day to 'Veterans Day'. Since then, this day has been observed as the Veterans Day in the United States. Some sources also suggest that the idea of celebrating this day as the Veterans Day is a tribute to all war veterans and not just the veterans of World War I was put forth by Alfred King - a shoe store owner hailing from Kansas.

Though it was initially decided that the 11th day of the 11th month of every year will be observed as the Veterans Day, in 1971 the day was shifted to fourth Monday of the October month. As per the new change, the Veterans Day was celebrated on 25th October in 1971. This change, however, resulted in great deal of confusion, and eventually Veterans Day was shifted back to 11th November in 1978. In 2001, a resolution passed by the US Senate declared the week starting from November 11th to November 17th, 2001, as 'National Veterans Awareness Week' in a bid to spread awareness about the same.

That was all you needed to know about why do we celebrate Veterans Day on 11th November every year. Lately, this day of the American history is celebrated across the nation by organizing ceremonial parades and other such activities by various organizations. Even the educational institutes in the country celebrate this day by organizing various Veterans Day activities for students so as to make them realize its importance. On the eve of Veterans Day 2010 knowing why we celebrate it must have surely made you realize why these war veterans deserve due respect.

Veterans Day Trivia: While many sources print this day as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day, the US administration recognizes the Veterans Day as the official spelling of the same.