View source for National day of mourning

{{Short description|Day marked by mourning and memorial activities}}
{{Redirect|Day of mourning|the album|Day of Mourning (album)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}
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, wartime commemorations, or the occurrence or anniversary of a significant [[disaster]] either in the country or in another country. 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."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rusu |first=Mihai Stelian |date=2020-01-01 |title=Nations in black: charting the national thanatopolitics of mourning across European countries |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616696.2019.1616795 |journal=European Societies |language=en |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=122–148 |doi=10.1080/14616696.2019.1616795 |issn=1461-6696}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rusu |first=Mihai Stelian |date=2020-02-01 |title=States of mourning: A quantitative analysis of national mournings across European countries |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07481187.2018.1526830 |journal=Death Studies |language=en |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=117–129 |doi=10.1080/07481187.2018.1526830 |pmid=30526409 |issn=0748-1187}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rusu |first=Mihai Stelian |date=2020-07-02 |title=The politics of mourning in post-communist Romania: unravelling the thanatopolitics of grievable deaths |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13576275.2019.1682983 |journal=Mortality |language=en |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=313–331 |doi=10.1080/13576275.2019.1682983 |issn=1357-6275}}</ref>
==List==
The following are lists for national days of mourning across the world:
* [[List of national days of mourning (before 2000)|Before 2000]]
* [[List of national days of mourning (2000–2019)|2000–2019]]
* [[List of national days of mourning (2020–present)|2020–present]]
== Selected list of figures recognized ==
=== State officials ===
* National days of mourning are typically declared for [[presidents of the United States]], usually on the day of their funerals. Beginning with the November 25th, 1963 mourning of [[John F. Kennedy]], these days are also considered federal holidays.<ref>{{cite web |title= Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims a national day of mourning for JFK, 1963 |website=The Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History |url=https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/lyndon-b-johnson-proclaims-national-day-mourning-jfk-1963 |access-date=1 October 2024}}</ref> There was no official day of mourning for [[Herbert Hoover]].<ref name="USStateFunerals">{{cite web|title=Past State Funerals|url=https://www.usstatefuneral.mdw.army.mil/past-state-funerals|website=usstatefuneral.mdw.army.mil|access-date=January 13, 2020|archive-date=January 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113034457/https://www.usstatefuneral.mdw.army.mil/past-state-funerals|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 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,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gwertzman |first1=Bernard |title=Soviet Announces Khrushchev Death in Cool Language |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/13/archives/soviet-announces-khrushchev-death-in-cool-language-moscow-denies.html |website=The New York Times |date=September 13, 1971 |access-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502194828/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/13/archives/soviet-announces-khrushchev-death-in-cool-language-moscow-denies.html |url-status=live }}</ref> while Malenkov's death was publicly announced more than 2 weeks after he died.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pearson |first1=Richard |title=George Malenkov Dies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1988/02/02/georgi-malenkov-dies/8d8ea079-f433-426e-8569-c74801e1f152/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 2, 1988 |access-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114103041/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1988/02/02/georgi-malenkov-dies/8d8ea079-f433-426e-8569-c74801e1f152/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Gagarin">{{cite web|url=https://www.pravdareport.com/society/124178-gagarin_death/|title=Gagarin's death: Obvious mystery|first=Dmitry|last=Sudakov|date=March 28, 2013|website=PravdaReport|access-date=January 14, 2020|archive-date=January 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114033640/https://www.pravdareport.com/society/124178-gagarin_death/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Duranty |first1=Walter |title=Lenin Dies Of Cerebral Hemorrhage; Moscow Throngs Overcome With Grief; Trotsky Departs Ill, Radek In Disfavor |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/990121onthisday_big.html |website=The New York Times |date=January 23, 1924 |access-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114034514/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/990121onthisday_big.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the final years of the Soviet Union, official mourning was declared for 2 disasters: the [[1988 Armenian earthquake]] and the [[Ufa train disaster]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Когда и по какому поводу в России объявляли общенациональный траур. Инфографика |url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-43572739 |website=BBC News Русская служба |language=ru |date=March 28, 2018 |access-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031025822/https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-43572739 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Presidents of Mexico]], usually on the day of their funerals. These days are usually considered municipal and religious holidays in [[Mexico City]] and federal holidays in the rest of [[Mexico|the republic]]. [[Miguel de la Madrid]] in 2012 was the most recent.
== International days of mourning ==
{{further |International day of mourning}}
A similar but rarely-used concept exists at the [[European Union]]-level and [[Arab League]]-level and are called a [[European Day of Mourning]] and [[Arab League Day of Mourning]]. The [[European Commission]] first introduced the concept on 12 September 2001, when a day of mourning was declared across EU member states for the victims of the [[September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks in the United States]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=EU: Ministers Express Total Support, Declare Day Of Mourning |url=https://www.rferl.org/amp/1097395.html |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=www.rferl.org}}</ref> A second and third day of mourning was held in April 2010 for the victims of [[Smolensk air disaster]] in [[Russia]] and in November 2015 for the victims of the [[November 2015 Paris attacks|Paris attacks]].<ref>{{cite web |date=April 12, 2010 |title=European Union officially mourns with Poland |url=https://www.euronews.com/2010/04/12/european-union-officially-mourns-with-poland |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129234226/https://www.euronews.com/2010/04/12/european-union-officially-mourns-with-poland |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |access-date=August 31, 2021 |website=euronews}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Press corner |url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/home/en |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=European Commission - European Commission |language=en}}</ref> Arab League has declared days of mourning for four times until October 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 21, 2009 |title=كونا : الجامعة العربية تعلن الحداد الرسمي لرحيل سمو امير الكويت - عام - 15/01/2006 |url=http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1591887&Language=ar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321224924/http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1591887&Language=ar |archive-date=2009-03-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-10-19 |title=Arab Ambassadors in Japan mirror Arab League's three days of mourning for Gaza |work=[[Arab News]] |url=https://www.arabnews.jp/en/japan/article_106317/ |access-date=2023-10-21}}</ref> Besides, Other organizations such as [[African Union]], [[Union of South American Nations]] etc also announced [[International day of mourning|day of international mourning]] for several times.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unasur declaró tres días duelo sudamericano por la muerte de Kirchner |url=https://www.ambito.com/politica/unasur-declaro-tres-dias-duelo-sudamericano-la-muerte-kirchner-n3650714 |website=www.ambito.com}}</ref>
== Remembrance events ==
While not the same as a national day of mourning, some remembrance events and protests are called a "day of mourning".
* [[National Day of Mourning (Bangladesh)]], held 15 August. In 1975 [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]] was killed by a group of army personnel, along with his family.
* [[Circassian Day of Mourning]], held May 21, commemorating the Circassian genocide and the Circassian defeat in the [[Russo-Circassian War|Russian-Circassian War]]
* [[Day of Mourning (Australia)]], annual protest of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians held on Australia Day, 26 January
* [[National Day of Mourning (United States protest)]], an American Indian protest held on the fourth Thursday of November
* [[National Day of Mourning (Canadian observance)]], held 28 April, a commemoration of workers killed or injured on the job
* [[Nakba Day]], annual commemoration of the [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight]] on 15 May by [[Palestinians]] worldwide.
== References ==
{{Portal|Sport of athletics}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Death customs]]
[[Category:National days]]
[[Category:Observances honoring the dead]]