Today is September 11th, a day that is now and will always be known to Americans as 9/11, a day of tragedy.  Many people believe that the terrorist attacks that took place on this day in 2001 were carried out on this day because of the connection between the written date “9/11″and the emergency phone number for the police in the United States “911.”  Before the 2001 attacks the numbers 911 immediately made most Americans think about an emergency.  Today these numbers also makes Americans, and people all around the world, think about the tragedy that happened on this day eleven years ago.

There are many tributes to the nearly 3,000 people who died in the terrorist attacks that took place on this day.  These tributes include videos, monuments, large memorials, and visitor centers all across the United States and world.  To find out more about these different ways people remember this important day in American history you can explore these two English language websites:
http://www.tributewtc.org/
http://www.911memorial.org/

It is common in America for people to observe a a moment of silence* around 9:00am (it was at 8:46 a.m. that Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center) on September 11th each year.  People take this moment of silence to remember the people who died in the attack, all those affected by this tragedy, and the volunteers who worked to help save survivors.

*moment of silence = a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection or meditation taken out of respect, particularly in mourning for someone who has died or as remembrance of a tragic historic event