DISCUSSION: Celebrate Veterans Day on 11-11-11

So it's 11:11 on 11-11-11. (Check the time stamp on the story. We're not messing around here, people.)

Did you do anything to mark this magical numerical moment? Did you make a particularly big wish or perhaps wait to see if the apocalypse materialized?

Were there any celebrations so that this date will be etched in your mind forever? Did you get married? (Hey, Disney World is hosting 11 nuptial ceremonies.) Any babies or grand kids born today — or were you hoping for this due date? What about any youngsters celebrating their 11th birthday today?

I'm at the , which started at 11 a.m. Friday, with special guests Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Highland Park), Rep. Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) and Blinded Veterans Association Director Steve Beres. The hour-long program is at the , 485 Maple St.

The array of numbers surrounding today makes it the most unique Veterans Day of all.

For the first time since the holiday was conceived as Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War I in 1917, it will be a day of five elevens.

The original celebration asked Americans to fast east at 11:11 a.m. on Nov. 11 to remember the troops who served the American cause in what was then called by then President Woodrow Wilson “The War to End War.”

Today people will mark their appropriate celebration at 11:11 a.m. on 11-11-11. That will not happen again for 100 years.

“We are pausing on the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year to remember the troops who fought in what was then considered the worst war,” Kirk said. “We want to support all of our veterans for their service to us.”

Dold kicked off an oral history project through the Library of Congress for veterans Monday in Lake Forest. Though the primary focus of the effort is chronicling stories of World War II, Dold paid tribute to all veterans.

“On this day we remember all have served,” Dold said. “They are the ones who preserve the very fabric of our freedom. They all need our support. Not just the ones who fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, but those who are coming home now from Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Read more:

Let us know if you did anything from the solemn to the goofy on 11-11-11. Write about it in the comments or upload a photo into this story.

And check out these unique stories involving today's equally unique date.

The Herald-News 

‘Super golden birthday’: Plainfield boy turns 11 on 11/11/11 - By Janet Lundquist

Talk about a golden birthday, this Plainfield sixth-grader turns 11 today. 

TODAY SHOW

Thousands flock to Las Vegas for 11/11/11 weddings

"The singular date will make matrimonial unions of at least 3,500 couples who have applied for marriage licenses in Clark County, where Las Vegas — long a destination for nuptials — is located."

MSNBC

Some scholars believe today's date is tied to the Mayan Apocalypse - making it not so lucky after all. 

How 11/11/11 is tied to the Mayan Apocalypse

"The ancient Mayan long-count calendar ends on Dec. 21, 2012, and some people believe that this date will usher in a new spiritual era, or even doomsday. Nov. 11, 2011 most likely became linked with Dec. 21, 2012, when believers noticed that the U.S. Naval Observatory had set the exact time of the 2012 winter solstice for 11:11 Universal Time on Dec. 21, according to John Hoopes, a scholar of Maya history at the University of Kansas."

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