What Is a National Day of Mourning?

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Following the news of former president Jimmy Carter's passing, President Biden has declared January 9 as a national day of mourning and ordered U.S. flags to fly at half-staff for 30 days from Sunday.

According to the New York Times, "it is common for presidents to mark the deaths of their predecessors with such proclamations," but national days of mourning don't just apply to former presidents: President Lyndon Johnson declared one for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and President George W. Bush designated one for the victims of the September 11 terror attacks.

On the national day of mourning, the federal government will be closed, as will the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. All governmental flags will be lowered to half-staff for 30 days following. "The current set of rituals are fully apparent by 1969 with the death of Dwight Eisenhower," according to the American Presidency Project. "At that point President Nixon declared a day of mourning, closed all government departments on the day of the funeral, directed that flags be flown at half-staff for 30 days, and directed that suitable honors be rendered by units of the Armed Forces."

The national day of mourning will coincide with Jimmy Carter's state funeral. "To honor a great American, I will be ordering an official state funeral to be held in Washington D.C. for James Earl Carter, Jr., 39th President of the United States, 76th Governor of Georgia, Lieutenant of the United States Navy, graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and favorite son of Plains, Georgia, who gave his full life in service to God and country," President Biden wrote in a statement shared by the White House.