A Brief History of Patriots’ Day

Fast Day

April 19 has been an important day in Massachusetts for many, many years. The Puritans knew it as Fast Day, a day set aside for fasting and prayer to atone for their sins and ask for God’s help in the new year. In 1775, April 19 was the day of the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy that marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War. In 1861, 5 Union soldiers were killed and 36 were wounded during a riot in Baltimore, marking the first casualties of the Civil War. Many of the soldiers were from Massachusetts.

Despite the decline of Puritan culture and the increasing separation between church and state, Fast Day remained an official holiday in Massachusetts until well into the 19th century. When it was abolished on March 16, 1894, the state also declared that April 19 would still be a public holiday, the name of which would be determined later.

New Name

What followed was weeks of debate in the legislature and the newspapers about what this new holiday should be called. Very quickly the idea of calling it something related to the Revolutionary War became popular, although some argued for the return of Fast Day.

Some thought it should be called Lexington Day, others Concord Day, still others thought it should be Lexington & Concord Day or Concord & Lexington Day. Still others, possibly tired of the bickering between the different factions, thought it should be called the 19th of April (like the 4th of July.)

The argument was settled on April 12, 1894 when Governor Frederic T. Greenhalge issued a proclamation declaring that the new holiday would be known as Patriots’ Day. The first official Patriots’ Day was celebrated one week later with battle reenactments, parades, patriotic decorations, and the ringing of church bells all over Eastern Massachusetts.

The Marathon

Three years later, the Boston Athletic Association decided to hold its first marathon on Patriots’ Day. The organizers intended to follow the same route taken by soldiers from Concord back to Boston in 1775, but Concord wasn’t far enough away from Boston for the marathon length. A route starting in Ashland was settled on instead and was pushed further back to Hopkinton in 1924. The marathon was held on April 19 (April 20 if the 19th fell on a Sunday) every year for decades.

In 1938, Patriots’ Day as a commemoration of the opening battles of the Revolutionary War was officially established as state law in Massachusetts. April 19th remained the official date of the holiday until 1969, when it changed to the third Monday in April. This gave many people a three-day weekend and became part of the April vacation week in public schools. The marathon would also continue to be held on the same day as the holiday.

Patriots' Day Now

Today, Patriots’ Day is celebrated much as it had been for over a century: with battle reenactments, parades, patriotic decorations, and the Boston Marathon. One of the newest traditions is a Red Sox home game at Fenway Park, which has been scheduled every year since 1959. It has only been canceled eight times: six due to weather, once due to the baseball strike in 1995, and most recently in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Patriots’ Day is perhaps most important in Massachusetts, we are not the only state to celebrate it. It is also an official state holiday in Maine, which calls it Patriot’s Day for unknown reasons. Additionally, it is a special observance day for schools in Wisconsin and officially recognized in Connecticut, Florida, Nevada, and Utah.

Learn More

BPL Research Guides

• American Revolution in Massachusetts
• Boston Marathon

Massachusetts Legislation

• Massachusetts General Law Chapter 6 Section 12J- Patriots' Day
• An Act To Abolish Fast Day And To Make The Nineteenth Day Of April A Legal Holiday
• An Act Relative To The Annual Observance Of April Nineteenth As Patriots' Day

Government Information

• Patriots' Day – From the National Park Service
• Patriots' Day in Lexington – Lexington Town Celebrations Committee
• Patriots' Day Parade – Town of Concord

Articles

• The Battle of Menotomy – from the Arlington Historical Society
• Here’s how Patriots Day became a holiday in Massachusetts – from Boston.com
• Patriot's Day: 5 things you should know – from USA Today
• The History of the Boston Marathon: A Perfect Way to Celebrate Patriot's Day – by Yoni Applebaum for The Atlantic
• In Maine, Patriots’ Day has a slightly different name – from Boston.com