The keyword phrase "Patriot Day" functions as a proper noun, denoting the specific name of an official day of observance in the United States. It is also known formally as the "Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance." This day is observed annually on September 11 to commemorate the 2,977 people who were killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Patriot Day was established by U.S. law on December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89). On this day, the President of the United States directs that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff at individual American homes, at the White House, and on all U.S. government buildings and establishments, both at home and abroad. The President also asks Americans to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time), the time the first of four hijacked planes struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. In 2009, Congress designated September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance, encouraging Americans to engage in charitable service and community activities as a tribute to the victims, survivors, and first responders.
It is critical to distinguish "Patriot Day" (September 11) from "Patriots' Day" (with an apostrophe). Patriots' Day is a different holiday celebrated on the third Monday of April in Massachusetts, Maine, and Wisconsin. It commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first armed conflicts of the American Revolutionary War. The similar naming often leads to confusion, but the two observances commemorate entirely different historical events and have distinct legal and cultural significances.
