Veterans Day 2016: What you need to know

November 11, 2016

Now that this long, stressful election season has finally come to an end, it's time for a holiday. Luckily, there happens to be one just three days after America chooses its next president -- in case you forgot, Veterans Day is Friday.

Veterans Day is celebrated annually on November 11 to honor those who have served in the Armed Forces as well as those who have fallen defending the country.

This will be the first Veterans Day to take place after the historic ban on women participating in ground combat was lifted.

Since it's a federal holiday, many workers and students have the day off. Whether or not this is the case for you, it's worth taking a moment to learn about the holiday and the veterans who live among us.

Remember your history

Although World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles was signed, fighting between the Allied forces and Germany had already ceased months prior. On the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice went into effect.

Armistice Day was celebrated every year thereafter in the United States until 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower changed it to Veterans Day to encompass the honoring of veterans of all American wars.

In 1930 the Veterans Administration (VA) was established to "consolidate and coordinate Government activities affecting war veterans." It was renamed in 1989 as the Department of Veterans Affairs, continuing to be known as the VA.

Some key figures

There are 18.8 million veterans living in the United States as of 2015, according to the Census Bureau. Of these, 1.6 million veterans are women.
A large proportion of the veteran population, 9.3 million, are aged 65 and older while 1.6 million are younger than 35...

Read entire article on CNN.com.