A minute's silence, flags at half-mast and crowds. Saturday is a national day of mourning

It should be a quiet day when most people are already preparing for Christmas Eve. But Saturday, December 23, 2023, will go down in history as a day of national mourning.

For several days, the Czech Republic has been experiencing one of the saddest events in modern history, when a young history student, David K. A gunman shot and killed 13 people in the Faculty of Philosophy building in Prague on Thursday afternoon, leaving one victim dead. Hospital. He injured dozens of people. Later he also committed suicide.

National flags will be flown at half-mast on state and public buildings to honor the memory of those killed in the shooting. For piety's sake, they should remain intact until Christmas Day. Prime Minister Peter Fiala has called on people to observe a minute's silence for the dead. At the same time, bells are rung throughout the Czech Republic at high noon.

“It's an opportunity to think about what we actually contribute to society, what signals we send, what we contribute to society. Each of us is responsible for this,” says Martin Kajdaml, head of the Department of Philosophy and Patrology at Palacky University in Olomouc, on the National Day of Mourning. Where Lectures on Philosophical Ethics.

Today, clergy will also celebrate several funerals for the victims of the shooting. One of them will be celebrated by Prague Archbishop John Grabner from 11 am in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle. In Pilsen, people remember the victims from eight o'clock in the morning. From 3 pm in Brno, Hradec Králové and Ostrava and from 4 pm in Olomouc.

A performance of the traditional singing of Rybo's Czech Christmas Mass in Prague's Hlavni Natrasi will also change. The orchestra will play the Lacrimosa and the Prayer for Martha, and in contrast, Se Christus Pan is born in Carol Narod.

Many cities across the Czech Republic are also canceling planned holiday and Advent events, and some theaters are canceling their performances or concerts.

A minute's silence will be observed in stores to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the shooting. Service and sales at the cash register will cease at noon. Those working in warehouses or electrical shops also join the bhakti. This was stated by the President of the Trade and Tourism Association of the Czech Republic Tomas Bruza. He called on customers to observe a minute of silence in memory of the victims.

The Czech Republic last observed state mourning on February 3, 2020, in honor of the President of the Senate Jaroslav Kubera, who died suddenly, and on October 12, 2019, the day of the funeral of singer Karel Gott. On 21–23 December 2011, three days of state mourning were declared before Christmas in honor of the late President Vaclav Havel, and two days of mourning were observed on 17 and 18 April 2010 after the plane crashed near Smolensk. , the Polish delegation, including President Lech Kaczynski, was on board.