The term "Patriot Day" is a proper noun that designates the annual American day of observance on September 11. It was established to commemorate the 2,977 people killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. This day serves as a national occasion for mourning and solemn remembrance of the victims at the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Virginia, and on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Patriot Day was created by U.S. Public Law 107-89, signed by President George W. Bush on December 18, 2001. The resolution calls for the President of the United States to issue a yearly proclamation designating September 11 as Patriot Day. By this proclamation, all U.S. flags are to 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. A nationwide moment of silence is also observed at 8:46 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time), the time the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. In 2009, the day was also designated as a National Day of Service and Remembrance, encouraging volunteerism and charitable acts.
It is important to distinguish Patriot Day (September 11) from Patriots' Day, a regional public holiday observed in April in Massachusetts and Maine, which commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord at the start of the American Revolutionary War. Patriot Day's significance lies in its function as a day of somber reflection on a national tragedy, honoring the fallen, recognizing the heroism of first responders, and fostering a spirit of national unity and service rather than celebration.
