Armistice Day

Armistice Day is a global commemoration held every year on November 11. It marks the signing of the armistice between Germany and the Allies of World War I. An armistice is a formal agreement to stop fighting or to end hostilities. This specific event took place in Compiègne, France. Today, the holiday is known by different names depending on the country. In the United States, it is called Veterans Day. In many Commonwealth of Nations countries, it is known as Remembrance Day.

The timing of the peace is very specific and famous. The armistice was signed at 5:45 am on November 11, 1918. The actual cessation of hostilities on the Western Front began at 11:00 am. This is often called the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month." However, the peace was not immediate for everyone. Thomas R. Gowenlock, an intelligence officer with the U.S. First Division, noted that shelling continued. Fighting from both sides lasted until nightfall that day. The armistice was also temporary. It expired after 36 days and required several extensions. A permanent peace was not reached until the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year.

Formal traditions for this day began shortly after the war ended. The first Armistice Day celebration occurred at Buckingham Palace in London. On November 10, 1919, King George V hosted a banquet. He held this event to honor the President of the French Republic, Raymond Poincaré. The next morning, official ceremonies were held on the palace grounds. These events introduced the two-minute silence. This silence serves as a mark of respect for those who died in the war. It also honors those left behind by the conflict.

Different nations have developed unique ways to observe this time. In the United Kingdom, the two-minute silence is often moved to Remembrance Sunday. This change began in 1939. It was done so the silence would not interfere with wartime production. In South Africa, a group called the Memorable Order of Tin Hats created a special ceremony. By the late 1920s, they observed a toast to "Fallen Comrades." This involved sitting in total darkness, except for a single "Light of Remembrance." They concluded their ceremony by singing the anthem "Old Soldiers Never Die."

As time passed, the focus of the holiday shifted in many places. Originally, the day focused on the military dead of World War I. Around the time of World War II, many countries changed their approach. Some nations expanded the holiday to include all veterans of their armed services. Others chose to honor both military and civilian war dead. In the United States, the name was originally "All Veterans Day." This was later shortened to Veterans Day in 1954. It is important to note that the U.S. has a separate day called Memorial Day. Memorial Day is the official day to remember those killed in action.

Many countries use specific symbols to represent remembrance. In Serbia, people wear a flower called Natalie's ramonda. This is significant because Serbian forces had the largest casualty rate in World War I. In Romania, the Romanian peony is used to pay tribute to soldiers. In Poland, November 11 is celebrated as National Independence Day. This commemorates the restoration of Polish sovereignty in 1918. This happened after the country had been divided for 123 years by the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire.

Geography and communication also shaped how the armistice was marked. In Kenya, ceremonies are held over the weekend two weeks after November 11. This delay happened because news of the armistice took a fortnight to reach the area. At that time, the region was known as Northern Rhodesia. Local German and British commanders had to meet to agree on their own protocols. In 2018, the world celebrated the centenary, or 100th anniversary, of the armistice. In France, more than 60 heads of state and government gathered at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to mark the occasion.