If someone displays their grief or contrition publicly, they wear sackcloth and ashes.
sackcloth
sackcloth in sackcloth and ashes in a state of great mourning or penitence
sackcloth and ashes
sackcloth and ashes Mourning or penitence, as in What I did to Julie's child was terrible, and I've been in sackcloth and ashes ever since. This term refers to the ancient Hebrew custom of indicating humility before God by wearing a coarse cloth, normally used to make sacks, and dusting oneself with ashes. In English it appeared in William Tyndale's 1526 biblical translations (Matthew 11:21), “They [the cities Tyre and Sidon] had repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”
An sackcloth idiom dictionary is a great resource for writers, students, and anyone looking to expand their vocabulary. It contains a list of words with similar meanings with sackcloth, allowing users to choose the best word for their specific context.
Dizionario di parole simili, diverso tenore, sinonimi, di invocazione per Idioma sackcloth