     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 died recently or as part of a tragic historical event. silent prayer and worship, including moments of silence practiced during other group activities have been practiced by quakers for more than 300 years. since silence contains no statements or assumptions concerning beliefs and requires no understanding of language to interpret, it is more easily accepted and used than a spoken prayer or observance when persons of different religious and cultural backgrounds participate together. in the colonial period pennsylvania quakers and lenape native americans worshiped silently together on several occasions, yet neither group thought that this implied that they had altered their traditional belief system in doing so. over time, the effectiveness of quaker-style silence for non-sectarian and non-controversial public observances has led to its almost universal use in the english-speaking world as well as other plural societies. this is also the case within many institutions where diverse groups are expected to participate but not necessarily share beliefs such as in government, schools, businesses and the military. many people in the commonwealth observe a moment of silence, often two minutes, at 11:00 am on 11 november each year (armistice day) to remember sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war. the period of silence is essentially a ritualized night vigil bracketed by the traditional bugle call "the last post"" and "the rouse", which is also called "reveille" in the united states. the last post was the traditional bugle call at the end of the day, and the rouse started the military day. for military purposes, the traditional night vigil over the slain was not just to ensure they were indeed dead and not unconscious or
Acknowledgements_of_death Death_customs Meetings Prayer Silence