Veterans Day: What's Open, What's Not, and What 'Goes to 11'

Aside from being the much-anticipated 11-11-11*, Friday is Veterans Day, bringing an extra level or two to the phrase “on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” of 1918, when an armistice was declared between the Allied nations and Germany to end hostilities in World War I (known until the 1940s as “the Great War”).

A list of places closed (and open) for the holiday is below. 

The war was not officially over until the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. Later that year, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of “Armistice Day,” celebrated by that name until 1938, when it became a legal federal holiday in the United States. After the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, dedicated to American veterans of all wars.

The Veterans Day National Ceremony, held each year on Nov. 11th at Arlington National Cemetery, even begins at 11 a.m. (The regional ceremony will be held at Philadelphia National Cemetery, at Haines Street and Limekiln Pike in Philadelphia, also at 11 a.m.)

Closed for Veterans Day

• Banks
• All U.S. Post Offices
• All Montgomery County courts and county offices
• All Commonwealth of Pennsylvania courts and state offices
• All federal courts and offices
• Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation: Online services and Pennsylvania Teleclaims (PAT) will be available—but services through 888-313-7284 will not be available in observance of the holiday.
• The bond market

Open

• Lower Merion public schools
• UPS and FedEx
• The Lower Merion TownshipAdministration Building, township treasurer’s office and all township libraries are open for business on Veterans Day.
• Trash and recycling pickups will operate on a normal Friday schedule in the township.
• Malls and most retail stores
• The stock market

*On a non-Veterans Day note, click the attached YouTube video for arguably the most celebrated use of the number "11" in film history.