HUDSON – The Hudson VFW Post 5791 will hold its Loyalty Day Ceremony on May 2 at 7 p.m. at 15 Bockes Rd.

The post will honor first responders, teachers, employees and Patriots Pen winners from Hudson and Litchfield. Patriots Pen is an essay competition the VFW holds each year for middle school students. Hudson Memorial School students Breille Oullette, Anthony Testa and Emily Powers, advanced to the district level.

Loyalty Day originally began as Americanization Day in 1921 in response to the Communists’ May 1 celebration of the Russian Revolution. On May 1, 1930, 10,000 VFW members staged a rally in Union Square in New York City to promote patriotism. Through a resolution adopted in 1949, May 1 evolved into Loyalty Day.