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Pa·tri·ots' Day
(pā'trē-əts, -ŏts')
n.
The third Monday in April, a holiday in Maine and Massachusetts commemorating the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, which began the American Revolution.
n.
The third Monday in April, a holiday in Maine and Massachusetts commemorating the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, which began the American Revolution.
Patriots' Day
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Patriots' Day
Third Monday in April
The battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, marked the beginning of the American Revolution on April 19, 1775. This is a legal holiday in Massachusetts and Maine. Although no one really knows who fired the first shot on the Lexington green—"the shot heard 'round the world," in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson—the British proceeded from Lexington to Concord, where there was a second bloody confrontation at North Bridge.
Residents of Maine and Massachusetts have observed Patriots' Day since the 18th century with costume parades, flag-raising ceremonies, and reenactments of the battles and the famous rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes, who were sent to warn their comrades in Concord of the British troops' approach. The Boston Marathon, one of the most famous of the world's marathon races, is run each year on Patriots' Day. Sometimes this day is referred to as Lexington Day or Battles of Lexington and Concord Day .
CONTACTS
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20540
202-707-5510; fax: 202-707-2076
www.loc.gov
Lexington Chamber of Commerce
1875 Massachusetts Ave.
Lexington, MA 02420
781-862-2480; fax: 781-862-5995
www.lexingtonchamber.org
Concord Chamber of Commerce
15 Walden St., Ste. 7
Concord, MA 01742
978-369-3120; fax: 978-369-1515
www.concordchamberofcommerce.org
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Patriots' Day
This article is about the American civic holiday. For the Quebec holiday, see National Patriots' Day.
For the anniversary of September 11, 2001, see Patriot Day.
| Patriots' Day | |
|---|---|
 Statue of the Lexington Minuteman on the Lexington Green in Lexington, Massachusetts. |
|
| Observed by | Massachusetts, Maine, Wisconsin |
| Type | Historical |
| Date | Third Monday in April |
| 2011 date | April 18 |
| 2012 date | April 16 |
| 2013 date | April 15 |
| Celebrations | Boston Marathon |
| Observances | Battles of Lexington and Concord |
.JPG)
Patriots' Day (officially Patriots' Day in Massachusetts[1] and Patriot's Day in Maine[2]) is a civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. It is observed on the third Monday in April in Massachusetts[3] and Maine[4] (once part of Massachusetts), and is a public school observance day in Wisconsin.[5] Observances and re-enactments of these first battles of the American Revolution occur annually at Lexington Green in Lexington, Massachusetts, (around 6:00 am) and The Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, (around 9:00 am). In the morning, mounted re-enactors with state police escorts retrace the rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes, calling out warnings the whole way.
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Contents
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Public holiday
Since 1969, the holiday has been observed on the third Monday in April, providing a three-day long weekend, as well as being the first day of public school vacation week in Maine and Massachusetts. Previously, it had been designated as April 19 in observance of the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. It is also a school holiday for many local colleges and universities, both public and private.
Sporting events
The Boston Marathon is run on Patriots' Day every year, so many Bostonians know the holiday as "Marathon Monday".
The Boston Red Sox have traditionally been scheduled to play at home in Fenway Park on Patriots' Day every year since 1959. The games were postponed due to bad weather in 1959, 1961, 1965, 1967, and 1984, and canceled in 1995[6] because of the late start to the season. Since 1968 the games have started early, in the morning, around 11:00 am. The early start to these games usually resulted in the game ending just as the marathon is heading through Kenmore Square. However, since 2007 the marathon has started between 9:30 am and 10:00 am, resulting in the racers going through Kenmore towards the middle of the Red Sox game.[7]
Recent and future dates
- 2011: Monday, April 18
- 2012: Monday, April 16
- 2013: Monday, April 15
- 2014: Monday, April 21
- 2015: Monday, April 20
- 2016: Monday, April 18
See also
- Patriot Day (September 11, a similarly named but unrelated event)
- Evacuation Day (Massachusetts)
- Bunker Hill Day
- Massacre Day
- Holidays of the United States
- Carolina Day
Notes
- ^ "Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, § 12J.". Massachusetts General Laws. The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter6/Section12J. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
- ^ "Maine Stat. Rev. 9-B, § 145.". Maine Revised Statutes. Maine State Legislature. http://www.legislature.maine.gov/legis/statutes/9-B/title9-Bch14-A.pdf. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
- ^ "Massachusetts Legal Holidays". Citizen Information Service. Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cishol/holidx.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ "Holidays". Human Resources Policy and Practices Manual. Maine Bureau of Human Resources. http://www.maine.gov/bhr/rules_policies/policy_manual/12_5.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ "Wisconsin Public School Observance Days". Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. http://dpi.wi.gov/eis/observe.html. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ "1995 Boston Red Sox Box Scores". http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/1995.shtml.
- ^ http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061222&content_id=1766797&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos
External links
- Patriots' Day information, via noblenet.org
- Information about Battle Reenactments, via battleroad.org
- Full Schedule of Concord Patriots Day Events and Video, via theconcordlife.com
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Holidays, Festivals & Celebrations of the World
Holidays, Festivals, and Celebration of the World Dictionary. Copyright © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
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