Flags will be flying above Hopkinton and Contoocook this weekend. How fitting our final flag holiday is a celebration of Veterans Day.
Veterans Day is always celebrated on November 11th in honor of the men and women who have served our country in times of war and peace. Originally called Armistice Day, commemorating the end of fighting in World War I, it was renamed in 1954 to formally include veterans of WWII and the Korean War.
Unlike Memorial Day which honors those who have lost their lives while serving, Veterans Day is also an opportunity to thanks living veterans for their service and sacrifice.
Some of us are old enough to remember the confusion caused when Veterans Day was, for a short period of time in the early 1970s, celebrated on the fourth Monday of October so federal employees would have a 3-day weekend. But that didn’t last as many states reverted to the original November 11 date because of its historic associations. As well, other countries, like our northern neighbor, Canada, celebrate the WWI armistice as Remembrance Day on Nov. 11th.
Fighting in World War I actually ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when a cease fire with Germany took effect. The Treaty of Versailles peace agreement wasn’t actually signed until June of the following year.
Here is some additional history from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
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