How long should mourning following the death of a parent last?

[lethargic_man]

A while ago I posted asking how long my readers thought a religious service should last, and was intrigued to get answers in a completely different range from my non-Jewish readers compared to my Jewish ones.

So now I'd like to run a different question past, in particular, my non-Jewish readers:

How long do you think one should deny oneself the pleasurable things in life—in particular, listening to music and attending parties—following the death of a parent? (It would be helpful, though not essential, if respondents could indicate whether they have been bereaved themselves.)

Again, I will post my own views at a subsequent date.

Comments

[naath]

Not at all. Indeed in my family the first thing one does after the funeral is hold a party for the family and friends of the deceased to get together and remember the deceased and console each other.

I don't think my refraining from fun does anything useful in and of itself.

I think it is good to support people known to be ill; which might mean giving up fun things to help them. And after a death to support the people who were closest to the deceased, which might also mean giving up fun. So supporting the remaining parent (if one remains) would be important - and what that means would be up to the parent.