Patriot Day

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For the anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution, see Patriots' Day.

For the Quebec holiday, see National Patriotes Day.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney lead a moment of silence on the South Lawn with White House staff and families of victims of 9/11.

In the United States, Patriot Day occurs on September 11 of each year, designated in memory of those who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks. However, the name does not seem to have yet caught on in the American vernacular; most people still refer to the day as "September 11th", "9/11", or some variation thereof.

U.S. House Joint Resolution 71 was approved by a vote of 407-0 on October 25, 2001. It requested that the President designate September 11 of each year as "Patriot Day." President George W. Bush signed the resolution into law on December 18, 2001 (as Public Law 107-89). It is a discretionary day of remembrance.

Initially, the day was called the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims Of the Terrorist Attacks.

On September 4, 2002, President Bush used his authority created by the resolution and proclaimed September 11, 2002 as Patriot Day. He has continued to make similar declarations every year since.

On this day, the President directs that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff and displayed from individual American homes, at the White House, and on all U.S. government buildings and establishments, home and abroad. The President also asks Americans to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 A.M. (Eastern Daylight Time) marking the first plane crash on Sept. 11, 2001.

Some countries have also shared Patriot Day with the U.S. as well. For example, in Canada, the prime minister orders flags on the Peace Tower (in Ottawa on Parliament Hill) and on all Canadian diplomatic missions in the U.S be flown at half-staff.

Some greeting card companies have released Patriot Day cards, causing controversy among some. However, many companies, such as Hallmark, do not offer cards specifically for Patriot Day.

Despite the law's passage and President Bush's proclamation, the effort to make Sept. 11 a national holiday has been rejected by a few who view the effort as an act of jingoism^{[citation needed]} and "handing the emotional victory over to the terrorists." Specifically, some object to the naming of the day as 'Patriot Day,'^{[citation needed]} as the day is intended as a memorial to the victims of a terrorist attack and arguably has nothing to do with patriotism or patriots. This could also be further construed as "patriotism" on the part of the 19 terrorists who gave their lives on that fateful day in September, 2001.

This day of observance should not be (but often is) confused with Patriots' Day, a holiday celebrated primarily in Massachusetts and Maine that commemorates the Battle of Lexington and Concord during the Revolutionary War.

Patriots died in the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, so this could be an additional source of confusion with Patriots' Day.