The term "Veterans Day long weekend" is a noun phrase. In this grammatical structure, the proper noun "Veterans Day" functions as a noun adjunct, which is a noun used as an adjective to modify another noun. It specifically modifies the compound noun "long weekend" to denote the particular holiday associated with the extended time off.
Veterans Day is a U.S. federal holiday observed on a fixed date: November 11th. This date was chosen to commemorate the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. Unlike holidays governed by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act (such as Memorial Day or Labor Day), which are fixed to a specific Monday to create a three-day weekend, Veterans Day is always celebrated on its historic date. Therefore, it only results in a long weekend when November 11th falls on a Friday or a Monday. If the date falls on a Saturday, the holiday is typically observed by government and many businesses on the preceding Friday. If it falls on a Sunday, it is commonly observed on the following Monday.
The practical implication is that a "Veterans Day long weekend" is a conditional event, not a guaranteed one. Its occurrence depends entirely on where November 11th falls on the calendar for a given year. For planning travel or activities, it is necessary to consult the calendar annually to determine if the observance of the holiday will align with a weekend to form a three-day break.
