A national day of mourning is a day, or one of several days, marked by
mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of a renowned individual or individuals from that country or elsewhere or the anniversary of such a death or deaths, the anniversaries of a significant natural or man-made disaster occurring either in the country or another country, wartime commemorations or in memory of the victims of a terrorist attack. Flying a national or military
flag of that country at
half-mast is a common symbol.
Sociologically, period of national mourning are understood "as instituting states of social exception during which state authorities enact ritual actions consisting in a sequence of choreographically staged performative acts meant to create a national community of grief in the face of what is framed as a socially meaningful loss."[1][2][3]
List
The following are lists for national days of mourning across the world:
A National Day of Mourning is typically declared for
presidents of the United States, usually on the day of their funerals. Beginning with
John F. Kennedy, these days are also considered federal holidays. There was no official day of mourning for
Herbert Hoover.[4]
In the
Soviet Union, an official mourning period was reserved for the deaths of leaders or former leaders, with
Alexei Rykov,
Nikita Khrushchev and
Georgy Malenkov being notable exceptions after Rykov was executed during the
Great Purge and the other two were relegated to obscurity. Khrushchev's death was announced only hours before he was buried without full state honors,[5] while Malenkov's death was publicly announced more than 2 weeks after he died.[6] This custom changed in 1968 when a national day of mourning was declared for Soviet cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin, the first human to journey into outer space.[7][8] In the final years of the Soviet Union, official mourning was declared for 2 disasters: the
1988 Armenian earthquake and the
Ufa train disaster.[9]
^Pearson, Richard (February 2, 1988).
"George Malenkov Dies". The Washington Post.
Archived from the original on January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2020.