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Armistice Day is the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 on 11 November 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies
Allies of World War I

File:Map Europe alliances 1914-en.svgThe Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The main allies were the Russian Empire, French Third Republic, the British Empire, Kingdom of Italy , the Empire of Japan, and the United States....
 and Germany at Rethondes
Rethondes

Rethondes is a Communes of France in the Oise Departments of France in northern France....
, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Empire army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France....
, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month".






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1918toronto Bayandking Armistace Day
Armistice Day is the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 on 11 November 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies
Allies of World War I

File:Map Europe alliances 1914-en.svgThe Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The main allies were the Russian Empire, French Third Republic, the British Empire, Kingdom of Italy , the Empire of Japan, and the United States....
 and Germany at Rethondes
Rethondes

Rethondes is a Communes of France in the Oise Departments of France in northern France....
, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Empire army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France....
, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month". While this official date to mark the end of the war reflects the cease fire on the Western Front, hostilities continued in other regions, especially across the former Russian Empire
Russian Empire

File:Russian Emperor Flag.jpgFile:Romanov Flag.svgThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917....
 and in parts of the old Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
.

The date was declared an international holiday in many allied nations, to commemorate those members of the armed forces who were killed during war. An exception is Italy, where the end of the war
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 is commemorated on 4 November, the day of the Armistice of Villa Giusti. Called Armistice Day in many countries, it was known as National Day
National Day

The National Day is a designated date on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a nation or non-sovereign country. Often the National Day will be a Public holiday....
 in Poland (also a public holiday
Holiday

The words holiday or vacation have related meanings in different English language countries and continents, but will usually refer to one of the following activities or events:...
) called Polish Independence Day
Polish Independence Day

National Independence Day is a public holiday in Poland celebrated every year on 11 November to commemorate the anniversary of Poland's assumption of independent statehood in 1918 after 123 years of Partitions of Poland by Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia....
. After World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, the name of the holiday was changed to Veterans Day
Veterans Day

Veterans Day is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is usually observed on November 11....
 in the United States and to Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day or Veterans Day – is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the World War I....
 in countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
. Armistice Day remains an official holiday in France. It is also an official holiday in Belgium, known also as the Day of Peace in the Flanders Fields
Flanders Fields

Flanders Fields is the generic name of the World War I battlefields in the medieval County of Flanders. At the time of World War I, the county no longer existed but corresponded geographically to the Belgian Flemish Region and the French Nord-Pas-de-Calais region....
.

In many parts of the world people take a two minute moment of silence
Moment of silence

A moment of silence is the expression for a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of respect, particularly in mourning for those who have recently died or as part of a commemoration ceremony of a tragic historical event....
 at 11:00 a.m. as a sign of respect for the roughly 20 million who died in the war, as suggested by Edward George Honey
Edward George Honey

Edward George Honey was an Australian soldier and journalist who is often credited with having conceived the idea of a moment of silence on Armistice Day ....
 in a letter to a British newspaper although Wellesley Tudor Pole
Wellesley Tudor Pole

Major Wellesley Tudor Pole was a spiritualism and early Bah?'? Faith in the United Kingdom.He authored many pamphlets and books and was a life long pursuer of religious and mystical questions and visions, being particularly involved with spiritualism and the Bah?'? Faith as well as the quest for the Holy Grail of Arthurian Legend....
 established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917. Beginning in 1939 the two-minute silence was moved to the Sunday nearest 11 November in order not to interfere with wartime production should 11 November fall on a weekday. Since the 1990s a growing number of people have observed a two-minute silence on 11 November, resulting in both Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday

In the United Kingdom, Remembrance Sunday is the second Sunday of November, the Sunday nearest to 11 November , which is the anniversary of the end of the hostilities of the World War I at 11 a.m....
 being commemorated formally in the UK (although in 2007 they fell on the same day).

See also

  • Volkstrauertag
    Volkstrauertag

    Volkstrauertag is a public holiday in Germany. It is observed two Sundays before the first of Advent, and commemorates those who died in war and the victims of violent oppression....
  • Remembrance Sunday
    Remembrance Sunday

    In the United Kingdom, Remembrance Sunday is the second Sunday of November, the Sunday nearest to 11 November , which is the anniversary of the end of the hostilities of the World War I at 11 a.m....
  • Remembrance Day
    Remembrance Day

    Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day or Veterans Day – is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the World War I....
  • Veterans Day
    Veterans Day

    Veterans Day is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is usually observed on November 11....