Armistice Day, Remembrance Day and Veterans Day - what's the difference?

Armistice Day is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany bringing an end to hostilities on the Western Front of World War I

War veterans attend Remembrance Day services (AFP/Getty)

At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the nation fell silent to remember Britain's war dead.

Armistice Day

Armistice Day is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany bringing an end to hostilities on the Western Front of World War I.

The armistice took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning - or the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918.

A celebration was held a year later at Buckingham Palace, with King George V hosting a "Banquet in Honour of The President of the French Republic", with the first official Armistice Day events held at Buckingham Palace on the morning of 11 November 1919.

At the outbreak of World War II, many countries changed the name of the holiday. Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations adopted Remembrance Day, while the US chose Veterans Day.

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states to remember the members of their armed forces who died in the line of duty.

The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae. It was adopted by The Royal British Legion in 1921.

In the UK, two minutes of silence are observed on 11 November and ceremonies are held at war memorials.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day is an official US public holiday honouring military veterans who served in the US Armed Forces.

It coincides with Armistice Day and Remembrance Day.

As it is a federal holiday, some American workers and students have the day off from work or school.