Patriot Day (September 11)

Patriot Day is observed every September 11 to remember the 2,977 people killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Congress designated the day in a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001, and the first Patriot Day was observed on September 11, 2002. It is a day of remembrance, not a federal holiday: offices and schools stay open, flags fly at half-staff and many Americans pause for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Eastern time.

The date is fixed, so the only thing that changes is the weekday. September 11 falls on a Friday in 2026 and a Saturday in 2027. The table below lists the weekday for every year.

What Happened on September 11, 2001

September 11, 2001, was a Tuesday. That morning, terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and used them as weapons against targets on the ground.

The times below come from the 9/11 Commission’s report and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum:

Time (Eastern)	Event
8:46 a.m.	American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center
9:03 a.m.	United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower
9:37 a.m.	American Airlines Flight 77 struck the western face of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia
10:03 a.m.	United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania

The attacks killed 2,977 people from 90 nations: 2,753 in New York, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 aboard Flight 93. The New York toll includes firefighters, police officers and other first responders who went into the towers to rescue others. On Flight 93, the 40 passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers, and the National Park Service credits their actions with stopping an attack on the US Capitol.

Our guide to what happened on the day you were born explains how to research other dates, and the 2001 calendar shows September 11 in the context of that year.

How Patriot Day Became Law

Congress moved quickly. Representative Vito Fossella of New York introduced House Joint Resolution 71 on October 25, 2001, and the House passed it the same day. The Senate passed it on November 30, and President George W. Bush approved it on December 18, 2001, as Public Law 107-89.

The law added a short section to Title 36 of the US Code, where Congress lists patriotic and national observances. Section 144 states that “September 11 is Patriot Day” and asks the president to issue a proclamation each year that calls on:

1. State and local governments and the people of the United States to observe the day with appropriate programs and activities.
2. Federal departments and agencies, and interested groups and individuals, to display the flag at half-staff in honor of those who died.
3. The people of the United States to observe a moment of silence in their honor.

The 2009 National Day of Service and Remembrance

Families of victims and volunteers later pushed to make the anniversary a day of service as well. Public Law 111-13, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, approved April 21, 2009, asked that September 11 be recognized each year as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Presidential proclamations have used the combined title “Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance” in many years since, inviting Americans to volunteer in honor of those who were lost.

How the Date Is Set

The rule is September 11 every year, with no weekday adjustment. Patriot Day is not among the eleven legal public holidays in federal law, which are explained in our federal holidays guide, so the Saturday and Sunday “observed” rule does not apply. When September 11 falls on a weekend, ceremonies are still held on the 11th itself.

Patriot Day often lands within a few days of Labor Day and National Grandparents Day. Grandparents Day, the first Sunday after Labor Day, can fall from September 7 to September 13, so in some years the two observances share the same Sunday, as they did in 2022.

How Patriot Day Is Observed

Observances are quiet by design.

• Moment of silence. Recent proclamations ask Americans to begin a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the minute the first plane struck the North Tower.
• Flags at half-staff. The flag flies at half-staff on federal buildings, and many homes, schools and businesses lower theirs too.
• Ceremonies at the three sites. At the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan, family members read aloud the names of those killed in the 2001 attacks and in the February 26, 1993, World Trade Center bombing. Commemorations are also held at the Pentagon and at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
• Service projects. Proclamations for the National Day of Service and Remembrance ask Americans to take part in community service in honor of those who were lost, and many volunteer groups organize projects on or around the date.
• Schools. Many classrooms hold a short moment of silence or lessons about the attacks, especially as students today were born after 2001.

Memorials and the Tribute in Light

Each attack site now has a permanent memorial. The Pentagon Memorial, honoring the 184 people killed there, opened in 2008 and was the first of the three to be dedicated. The 9/11 Memorial in New York opened on the 10th anniversary in 2011; its twin reflecting pools, each nearly an acre in size, are bordered by bronze parapets inscribed with the names of the victims. The Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville includes the Tower of Voices, which the National Park Service describes as the world’s tallest chime structure.

The Tribute in Light is the most visible part of the anniversary in New York. First presented six months after the attacks, it returns every year from dusk to dawn on the night of September 11. Two beams made from 88 xenon bulbs rise from a rooftop south of the 9/11 Memorial, reaching up to four miles into the sky, and can be seen from about 60 miles away.

How Patriot Day Has Changed

The first Patriot Day in 2002 came only a year after the attacks, and ceremonies were dominated by recent grief. Over two decades the emphasis has widened to include education for people too young to remember the day and, since 2009, community service.

The core of the observance has not changed: a fixed date, a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., and the reading of names. The 25th anniversary in 2026 fell on a Friday, and like every other year, it was observed on September 11 itself.