| Armistice Day | |
|---|---|
 Front page ofThe New York Times on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918 | |
| Observed by | Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, New Zealand, Romania, Serbia, United Kingdom and many other countries |
| Significance | Commemoration of the signing of the Armistice between theAllied Powers and theCentral Powers effectively ending all military operations and hostilities in all theatres and fronts ofWorld War I at Compiègne, France |
| Date | 11 November |
| Next time | 11 November 2026 (2026-11-11) |
| Frequency | Annual |
| First time | World's first official observance atBuckingham Palace, London, on 11 November 1919 |
| Related to | Remembrance Sunday,Remembrance Day (Commonwealth),National Independence Day (Poland),National Unity and Armed Forces Day (Italy),Veterans Day (United States); |
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Armistice Day, later known asRemembrance Day in theCommonwealth andVeterans Day in theUnited States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to markthe armistice signed between theAllies of World War I andGermany atCompiègne,France, at 5:45 am[1] for the cessation of hostilities on theWestern Front of World War I, which took effect at 11:00 am—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918—although, according to Thomas R. Gowenlock, an intelligence officer with theU.S. First Division, shelling from both sides continued for the rest of the day, ending only at nightfall.[2][3] The armistice initially expired after a period of 36 days and had to be extended several times. A formal peace agreement was reached only when theTreaty of Versailles was signed the following year.[4]
The date is a national holiday inFrance, and it was declared a national holiday in manyAllies of World War I nations, several of which have since changed the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to eitherRemembrance Day in theCommonwealth of Nations, orVeterans Day in the United States.[5] Italy celebrates theArmistice with Austria on November 4 asNational Unity and Armed Forces Day. In Poland, November 11 coincides withNational Independence Day.
The first Armistice Day celebration was held atBuckingham Palace, commencing with KingGeorge V hosting a "Banquet in Honour of the President of theFrench Republic" (Raymond Poincaré)[6] during the evening hours of 10 November 1919. The first official Armistice Day events were subsequently held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace on the morning of 11 November 1919,[7] which included atwo-minute silence as a mark of respect for those who died in the war and those left behind.[8]
Similar ceremonies developed in other countries during theinter-war period.In South Africa, for example, theMemorable Order of Tin Hats had by the late 1920s developed a ceremony whereby the toast of "Fallen Comrades" was observed not only in silence but darkness, all except for the "Light of Remembrance", with the ceremony ending with the Order's anthem "Old Soldiers Never Die".[9][Note 1]
In the UK, beginning in 1939, the two-minute silence was moved to the Sunday nearest to 11 November in order not to interfere with wartime production should 11 November fall on a weekday.[11] This becameRemembrance Sunday.
Commemorations of November 11 were initially focused on honoring the military dead of the First World War and the return to peace. Just prior to or after World War II, many countries changed the name of the holiday, several changed the focus to include all veterans of their armed services, and a few honor their war dead both uniformed and civilian. Most member states of theCommonwealth of Nations followed the earlier example of Canada and adopted the nameRemembrance Day.[12] The United States in 1954 changed the name toAll Veterans Day, later shortened to 'Veterans Day'.[13]
In the United Kingdom, Armistice Day is observed with a two minute silence on the eleventh hour, with the main service taking place onRemembrance Sunday (also known as Remembrance Day).[14] Both days are commemorated formally but are not public holidays.[15] TheNational Service of Remembrance is held in London on Remembrance Sunday.[16] TheCatholic Bishops of England and Wales suggested that churches should conduct aRequiem Mass for the dead of the war on Sunday 11 November 2018.[17]
In the United States,Veterans Day honors American veterans, both living and deceased. The officialday of national remembrance of those killed in action isMemorial Day, which predates World War I. Some, including American novelistKurt Vonnegut and AmericanVeteran For Peace Rory Fanning, have urged Americans to resume observation of 11 November as Armistice Day, a day to reflect on how we can achieve peace as it was originally observed.[18]
In France, the holiday may also be known as Remembrance Day (Jour du Souvenir).InBelgium, it remains Armistice Day (Jour de l'Armistice).[19]
The day has been a public holiday inSerbia since 2012. The Serbian forces sufferedthe largest casualty rate in World War I. To commemorate their victims, people in Serbia wearNatalie's ramonda as a symbol of remembrance.[20]
InPoland, 11 November is observed asNational Independence Day, a public holiday to commemorate the anniversary of the restoration of Poland's sovereignty as theSecond Polish Republic in 1918, after 123 years ofpartition by theRussian Empire, theKingdom of Prussia and theHabsburg Empire.[21]
InRomania, Armistice Day is observed as Veterans' Day or Combat Theater Veterans Day, the day also signifies the death of the first Romanian soldier in theAfghanistan war on 11 November 2003.[22] Since 2015, theRomanian peony is used to pay tribute to the Romanian soldiers who died on the battlefield.[23]
Ceremonies are held inKenya over the weekend two weeks after Armistice Day. This is because news of the armistice only reached today'sZambia (the then Northern Rhodesia) about a fortnight later, where the German and British commanders then had to agree on the protocols for their own armistice ceremony.[24]
On 11 November 2018, thecentenary of the Armistice, commemorations were held globally. In France, more than 60 heads of state and government gathered at theArc de Triomphe in Paris.[25]
