Which federal holiday law temporarily moved Veterans Day celebrations to Mondays beginning in 1971?

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act temporarily moved Veterans Day celebrations to Mondays beginning in 1971.

Congress passed the law to create more predictable three-day weekends by shifting several holidays from fixed dates. Veterans Day was moved from November 11 to the fourth Monday of October under the new schedule.

The change was controversial because November 11 was not merely a convenient date: it marked the 1918 armistice ending World War I. Veterans’ organizations argued that moving the observance weakened its historical meaning.

Congress later returned Veterans Day to November 11. The restoration took effect in 1978, while other Monday holidays established or affected by the law continued on Monday schedules. Veterans Day therefore has a distinctive fixed-date status among major U.S. federal holidays.