It's Monday morning, and I'm writing this post to educate the people of Massachusetts, many of whom are sleeping right now, about why they have the day off. Today is Patriots' Day, a holiday only celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine.  Over the weekend, I asked a lot of well-educated people, some of whom are paying their employees to take today off, "What event does Patriots' Day commemorate?" and no one could pinpoint it.

So as a public service, I decided to answer the question, and to provide an explanation for my readers. However, since I have the day off, I didn't want to spend a lot of time doing boring research. Whenever I'm in this situation, I add the words, "for kids," after the subject I'm googling.  In this case it was, "The Battle of Lexington and Concord for kids." This way, you get the gist of the thing, plus easy vocabulary, in one paragraph. Also, these websites gloss over the hideous details one might find when researching topics like "war for adults," by calling bloody fighting and extensive casualties "skirmishes," or by mentioning that "shots were fired," for example.

Here is the upshot of the Battle of Lexington and Concord from socialstudiesforkids.com: 

"First shots fired between American and British troops, on April 19, 1775.  The British chose to march to Concord because it was an arms depot.  This meant that the Americans had stockpiled weapons there. British troops had occupied Boston and were marching on Concord as they passed through Lexington.  No one is still sure who fired first, but it was the "Shot Heard 'Round the World." Both sides opened fire, and the Americans were forced to withdraw. But they had slowed the British advance.  By the time the Redcoats got to Concord, the Americans were waiting for them in force. The weapons depot was saved, and the British were forced to retreat, harassed by militiamen along the way.  The skirmishes were preceded by Paul Revere's famous ride, warning the countryside: "The British are coming!"