Armistice Day Celebrations Around the World

On the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918, hostilities on the Western Front of World War I ceased in response to the armistice signed by the Allies and Germany. Each year since, on the anniversary of that date, the allied nations honor members of their armed forces on the so-called Armistice Day. While we now call it something different here in America, the sentiment is the same. So let's take a look at how different countries paid respect to war veterans, past and present, today.

1. Sydney, Australia

In Sydney, Australian veterans gathered for what they call Remembrance Day at the Sydney Cenotaph at Martin Palace. The monument to World War I dates to 1927 with an inscription that reads "To Our Glorious Dead" on one side and "Lest We Forget" on the other.

2. British Troops In Kandahar, Afghanistan

Active members of the service took a moment of silence to honor military men and women who came before them.

3. Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow celebrated Armistice Day with a 27-minute long narrative light show projected onto the Glasgow City Chambers building.

4. Ottawa, Canada

An estimated 50,000 or more people crowded into Confederation Square today to place poppies on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

5. Edinburgh, Scotland

Veterans and members of the general public alike gathered at the garden of remembrance in Princess Street Gardens.

6. Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, France

The French President Francois Hollande marked the anniversary of the armistice today with the unveiling of a new international war memorial at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. On the so-called The Ring of Memory are the names of 600,000 soldiers from over 40 countries who died in the region during the war.

7. London, England

The Tower of London hosted perhaps the most striking celebration today. Over the past several months, 888,246 glass poppies—one for each of the British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in the war—have been "planted" in the moat, with the final flower added today.

All images courtesy of Getty Images unless otherwise noted.