Lying in state is the tradition in which a coffin is placed on view to allow the public at large to pay their respects to the deceased. It traditionally takes place in the principal government building of a country or city. While the practice differs among countries, a viewing in a location that is not the principal government building is referred to as lying in repose.
Read more about Lying In State: Canada, North Korea, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City
Famous quotes containing the words lying in, lying and/or state:
“Meanwhile the angel,
dressed for laughs as a plasterer,
puts a match to whatever’s
lying in the grate: broken scaffolds,
empty cocoons, the paraphernalia
of unseen change.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“Once, when lying in bed with no paper at hand, he began to sketch the idea for a new machine on the back of his wife’s nightgown. He asked her if she knew the figure he was drawing. “Yes,” she answered, “the figure of a fool.””
—For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“To educate the wise man, the State exists; and with the appearance of the wise man, the State expires. The appearance of character makes the state unnecessary. The wise man is the State.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)