Patriot Day was established on December 18, 2001, through the signing of Public Law 107-89 by President George W. Bush. The law designated September 11th of each year as a national day of remembrance for the individuals who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The first official commemoration under this designation occurred on September 11, 2002.
The legislation was prompted by U.S. House Joint Resolution 71, which was approved by Congress with a vote of 4070 in the House and unanimous consent in the Senate. The text of the law calls for the President to issue a proclamation each year to mark the occasion. It directs that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff on all federal buildings and establishments, and it encourages all Americans to display the flag at their homes. The resolution also asks the people of the United States to observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the time the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
This federal observance, Patriot Day, is distinct from Patriots' Day, a state holiday celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine on the third Monday of April. Patriots' Day commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. The observance created in 2001 is exclusively focused on the memory of the September 11th attacks.
