Mourning is the period of sadness and grieving that follows when someone dies. When people mourn, they express their sorrow at losing someone they cared about. They might cry, share memories, attend a funeral, or simply feel quiet and sad for a while.

Different cultures have different mourning traditions. Some wear black clothing, some gather for special ceremonies, and some observe mourning for a specific number of days or months. In Victorian England, people mourned for a year or more, wearing special dark clothes called mourning dress to show their grief. Jewish tradition includes sitting shiva, when mourners stay home for seven days while friends and family visit to offer comfort.

Mourning is natural and important: it gives people time to accept their loss and honor the person who died. A family might be in mourning after losing a grandparent, meaning they're going through that sad time together.

People can also mourn things other than death. You might mourn the end of summer vacation or mourn moving away from a best friend, though these uses are less common than mourning a person who has died.