Unpacking the Impact: The Significance of Trump's Second Designated Holiday Next Week

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Featured Video: Trump Declares May 8 as ‘Victory Day’ in the US to Honor World War II

(NEXSTAR) — You might already have Tuesday, November 11, highlighted on your calendar. For those employed by the post office, banks, or companies that observe Veterans Day, it could also mean a day off work.

This year, however, the date carries an additional meaning due to a presidential proclamation made earlier.

In a move announced in May, President Trump introduced two new national holidays. In a statement on Truth Social, he clarified that these holidays are intended to honor the conclusions of World Wars I and II.

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The first holiday was observed shortly after Trump’s announcement on May 8. It marked the end of World War II.

The second aligns with Veterans Day.

The U.S. has observed Veterans Day in some form since it became a legal holiday in 1938. Originally known as Armistice Day, it was meant to honor veterans of World War I. On November 11, 1918, Germany and the Allies signed an armistice agreement to end what was then known as the Great War.

Slideshow: Photos from Nov. 11, 1918

This was the scene in France when news of the signing of the Armistice Treaty was heard, Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)
FILE – This March 24, 1941 file photo shows the saloon car of Compiegne, in where the armistice ending World War I was signed on Nov. 11, 1918. The French and German leaders this weekend will jointly visit the remains of the train carriage where the armistice ending World War I was signed on Nov. 11, 1918. For the French, the dining car became a shrine to peace. For Adolf Hitler, it was a symbol of the humiliation of surrender. The Nazi leader had it dragged to Germany after conquering France in World War II. (AP Photo)
This picture, made at the close of World War I, shows allied officials dismounting from the railway car where they dictated the terms of the Armistice, Nov. 11, 1918. Gen. Maxime Weygand is second from left, Marshal Foch fourth from left. In this same car in Compiegne forest, Adolf Hitler handed France his armistice terms on June 21, 1940. (AP Photo)
The German delegation, Erzberger, Obendorff and Winterfeld, at left, talk to French General Weygand, facing camera at right, as they wait for the start of the train to the Armistice conference in Forest of Compiegne, France, Nov. 11, 1918, which ended World War I. (AP Photo)
Women dance in the street below the window of the mayor’s office at City Hall in New York on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)
Parisians celebrate Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)
People celebrate Armistice Day on the Grand Boulevard in Paris on Nov. 11, 1918. Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of World War I, celebrates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front. (AP Photo)
New York troops in Corbie, France, celebrate the signing of the Armistice Treaty, Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)
Soldiers cheer as the news of the signing of the Armistice is broken to the 313th Sanitary Group of the 88th Division in Meurthe, France on Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)

After World War II, the holiday was renamed Veterans Day, and its purpose grew to honor all U.S. veterans from every war. Great Britain, France, Australia, and Canada also honor their veterans of World War I and World War II on or near November 11.

Initially, Trump wanted to rename Veterans Day to “Victory Day for World War I Day.” A day later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that Veterans Day would not be renamed but that the new holiday would “just be an additional proclamation.”

Veterans Day will remain intact and largely unaffected by the expected proclamation from Trump. You’ll also still have off work if your company observes the federal holiday. And if your company does not treat it as a day off, it will likely stay that way.

Trump previously said the country would not be closing for the two “very important Holidays” because “we already have too many Holidays in America — There are not enough days left in the year.”

You’ll have a day off soon, however. Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away.