Happy Patriots Day

Monday, April 19 is Patriots Day, a state holiday that commemorates the Battle of Lexington and Concord, which started the American Revolution. Town offices are closed. State officesare closed. Public schools are closed for April vacation this coming week, but school officesare also closed because of the holiday. By law Patriots Day is celebrated in Massachusetts on the third Monday in April, to take advantage of the opportu­nity of a long weekend. But it so happens this year that the public holiday is on the actual anniversary of the event. The Battle of Lexington and Concord, in which American farmers stood up to an invading British army bent on taking their guns and powder from them and, in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words, “fired the shot heard round the world,” took place on Wednesday, April 19, 1775. This year is the 235th anniversary. As usual, reenactments are planned in both towns. Lexington’s starts on Lex­ington Common (now known as the Battle Green) sometime after 5 a.m. Monday.