Today is Patriots’ Day which commemorates the first shots fired in the Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord in 1775. This holiday is observed only in Massachusetts, Maine (which was part of Massachusetts until achieving statehood in 1820) and in Wisconsin public schools.
In this part of the country when people think of Patriots’ Day they are more inclined to think of the Boston Marathon and morning baseball at Fenway Park. Indeed, the first Red Sox game I ever attended took place on Patriots’ Day. The beginning of the American Revolution tends takes a back seat.
I think the events of April 19, 1775 are every bit as important as July 4, 1776. Patriots’ Day ought be a national holiday.
