How is the proper way to format a date?

There is no single answer to that. Various date formats are provided and you have the choice of which one to use. Things you need to look for are the way the date is being shown, as it is different in different parts of the world. 02/05/95 in Europe means the 2nd of May 1995, but in America it would be February the 5th 1995. To be clear about this, you can choose a date format that shows the Word for the month, so you would get something like 27-Jan-06 which leaves no confusion. Sometimes you only need to show the month, and sometimes you might want to show the full Words for the months and days. All these possibilities are there. There is no proper way; it is your choice.