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Inauguration Day is the day on which the President Of The United States is Sworn In And Takes Office . Originally held every four years on March 4 , the ratification of the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution changed the time for the President and Vice President's terms to begin to noon on January 20 th, beginning with Franklin Roosevelt 's second term in 1937. INAUGURAL TRADITIONS The U.S. Armed Forces have participated in inaugural day ceremonies since George Washington , because the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Since the first inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, that participation has been coordinated by the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (now called the Joint Task Force-Armed Forces Inaugural Committee ). The oath of office is traditionally administered on the steps of the and '' Hail Columbia ''. At 12:00 exactly, the President takes the oath of office, administered by the and Herbert Hoover have chosen to affirm rather than swear. Immediately following the oath, the bands play four Ruffles And Flourishes and '' Hail To The Chief '', followed by a 21-gun Salute from Howitzer s of the Military District Of Washington . The President delivers an inaugural address, setting the tone for the new administration. Should January 20 be a Sunday, the President is usually administered the oath of office in a private ceremony on that day, followed by a public ceremony the following day. Since 1953 the President and Vice President have been guests of honor at a luncheon held by the United States Congress immediately following the inaugural ceremony. Other than at State Of The Union addresses and Red Mass , it is the only time the President, Vice President, and both houses of Congress congregate in the same locale. Since Thomas Jefferson 's second inaugural on March 4 , 1805 , it has become tradition for the president to parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House . The only president not to parade down Pennsylvania Avenue was Ronald Reagan . He paraded down Pennsylvania Ave. during his first inauguration, in 1981, amidst the joyous news just minutes into his term that the American Hostages Held In Iran for more than a year had been released, but didn't do so in 1985 because freezing cold temperatures, made dangerous by high winds, cancelled the parade. In 1977, Jimmy Carter started a new tradition by walking from the Capitol to the White House, although for security reasons, subsequent presidents have only walked a part of the way. The inaugural celebrations usually last ten days, from five days before the inauguration to five days after. However, in 1973, the celebrations marking Richard Nixon 's second inauguration were disrupted by the death and State Funeral of Lyndon Johnson . The security for the inaugural celebrations is a complex matter, involving not only the Secret Service, but other Federal law enforcement agencies, all five branches of the Armed Forces , the Capitol Police , and the Metropolitan Police Department Of The District Of Columbia (MPDC). One issue is the ability of protestors to express their Constitutionally-protected rights while providing protection for the government officals at risk for assassination or bodily harm. In 2005, Protesters believed the area selected by the MPDC was too far from the parade route. OTHER INAUGURAL FACTS
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