Many people assume all federal holidays fall on a Monday.  In 1968 the Uniform Holiday Bill ruled that Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day would be celebrated on Monday regardless of the day of the week on which they fell.   The idea was to give three-day weekends to federal employees to encourage travel and recreation and stimulate the economy.  Many other employers followed.  Moving Veterans Day also stimulated anger from the public, enough that by 1975 the government recognized the historical and patriotic significance of the original date and returned the celebration and recognition to November 11.  However, if it does fall on a weekend, federal offices are closed on either a Friday or Monday. 

The significance of the date can be traced back to the day’s origins.  On the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, in the eleventh month of 1918, an armistice was called, ending the hostilities in World War I.  The war began in 1914, prompted by a snowball of events, the first of which was a Serbian nationalist assassinating the archduke of Austria-Hungary.  The United States maintained an isolationist stance until American ships came under attack by the German Navy and entered the war in 1917.  It was the first war between industrialized nations.  A war between countries to acquire territory and resources as opposed to World War II, which was more a war of ideologies like fascism, communism, and democracy.  World War I was trench warfare.  Men fought eye to eye and hand to hand, supported by artillery and poisonous gas.  The recent movie 1917 captures the staggering destruction and brutal nature of the battles. 

When the United States declared war, there were only 100,000 men in the United States military, not nearly enough to fight the war in Europe.  A month later, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which gave the president power to draft soldiers.  The act required all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for military service.  Men continued to volunteer though, and of the 4.8 million who served, 2.0 million raised their hand to fight overseas. 

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11, “Armistice Day.”  It became a legal holiday in 1938 and was later expanded to honor veterans of World War II and the Korean War and renamed Veterans Day in 1954.  Today we pay tribute to all who served in the United States military. 

Every year during Christmas, there are calls to remember "the reason for the season."  A fear the celebration of Jesus’s birth risks getting lost in mounds of wrapping paper and drowned in eggnog.  There’s also a chance honoring those who risked their lives in battle, or were prepared to, can get lost in the chatter around sales, discounts, and freebies that collect under the umbrella of Veterans day. 

Even though my wife didn't get an email, there was mail on Monday.  Six catalogs, two small packages, a political survey, three direct marketing pitches, and three pieces of actual correspondence.  Medical bills.  I tossed everything but the bills and the packages in the recycle bin, then I opened the packages and sorted the bills.  Ten or fifteen minutes of grumbling about direct marketers, wondering how many trees sacrifice their lives for catalogs, and trying to understand co-pays and deductibles.  When I finished, I got an idea. 

Today, Thursday, November 11, 2021, is Veterans Day.  There is no mail delivery.  Join me in using the time we would have spent retrieving, sorting, recycling, and cursing the mail, to reflect on the men and women who volunteered or responded to their draft board to join our military.  Who risked their lives or were prepared to put themselves in harm's way, whether overseas or on our soil, so we could freely take these daily walks to the mailbox. 

Offer them a quiet and heartfelt thanks.  And if you are so inclined, donate to a non-profit dedicated to veterans and service members, like the Wounded Warrior Project, the Gary Sinise Foundation, or one of these other highly rated programs. 

It’s the reason for the season.