Mourning

Mourning is, in the simplest sense, synonymous with grief over the death of someone. The word is also used to describe a cultural complex of behaviours in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate. Customs vary between different cultures and evolve over time, though many core behaviors remain constant.

Famous quotes containing the word mourning:

“here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house pacing up and down,”
—Vachel Lindsay (1879–1931)

“Ring out your bells, let mourning shows be spread.”
—Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586)

“Who comes into this country, and has come
Where golden crocus and narcissus bloom,
Where the Great Mother, mourning for her daughter
And beauty-drunken by the water
Glittering among grey-leaved olive-trees,
Has plucked a flower and sung her loss....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)