Observing Veterans Day on November 11

One of the many fine features of Veterans Day is that it’s observed on the date on which it should be observed.

This sets it apart from many other holidays in contemporary America. And it wasn’t always so. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, moving four national holidays (Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day) from their historical dates to Mondays, in order to provide American workers and consumers three-day weekends. Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday in October, and it began to be observed then in 1971. But the public reaction was so strongly negative that Congress acted in 1975 to reverse itself, returning Veterans Day to November 11, effective in 1978.