National day of mourning

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A national day of mourning is a generic category for a day marked by mourning and memorial activities across the majority of a country's populace; 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. They are typically either spontaneous reactions or specifically so designated by that country's government. In addition to commemorations of the death of an individuals, many would include Israeli's Yom HaShoah in remembrance of the Holocaust to be such a day.

[edit] Selected List of Figures Recognized by National Days of Mourning

[edit] State officials

• Victims of the 2005 Assassination of Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (Lebanon)
• All Presidents of the United States, usually on the day of their funerals beginning with John F. Kennedy (these days are also considered Federal holidays).
• When the Swedish Social Democratic Prime Minister Olof Palme was killed in 1986-Sweden, Cuba, Nicaragua and Vietnam.
• Leaders Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong (who actually had a national mourning period lasting a week), and Deng Xiaoping - China
• Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister of Israel who was assassinated on November 4, 1995; a national day of mourning is commemorated in Israel and in various Jewish communities worldwide.

[edit] Religious figures

• Pope John Paul II (Mainly Roman Catholic countries)
• Venerable Master Yin Shun (Taiwan)

[edit] Sporting figures

• Ayrton Senna (Brazil)

[edit] Other figures

• Steve Irwin (Australia)

[edit] Tragedies

• Victims of the Circassian Genocide are remembered in the Circassian Day of Mourning
• Victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing (United States)
• Victims of September 11, 2001 attacks (United States and Ireland)
• Victims of the 2004 Tsunami in Southeast Asia (All parts of the world)
• Victims of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 (Hong Kong)
• Victims of the 1999 Taiwan Earthquake (Taiwan)
• Victims of the Nanking Massacre (Taiwan and mainland China)
• Victims of the 2004 terrorist train bombing in Madrid, Spain (Spain)
• Victims of the 2005 terrorist bombings in London (United Kingdom)
• Victims of Hurricane Katrina (United States) 29 August 2005
• Victims of the 2006 roof collapse in Katowice (Poland), 29 January 2006 - 1 February 2006
• Victims of the mining disaster at the Halemba mine in Ruda Śląska (Poland), 23 November 2006 - 25 November 2006
• Victims of the Ulyanovskaya Mine disaster, the crash of UT Air Flight 471 and a fire in a retirement home (Russia), 21 March 2007
• Victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre (United States)
• Victims of the 2007 Slovenia floods (held 21st September 2007) (Slovenia)
• Toše Proeski's tragic death in a car accident on 17 October 2007 (Macedonia)
• Victims of the Polish Army aircraft crash in Mirosławiec on 23 January 2008 (Poland)
• Victims of the 2008 Cameroonian anti-government protests called for on the 21 April 2008
• Victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake
• Victims of Cyclone Nargis in Burma