ars moiendi

Though perhaps the provenance of the observance is a little dodgy, it seems that there is no better day than today to face and reflect on one’s own mortality and to cherish the time we have.
No Hallmark or hashtag holiday this, the phrase and its associated arts and practises memento mori, “remember that you will die” can be traced back to an anecdote recorded by a second century Christian philosopher, a writer named Tertullian (who was also responsible for making the heart the symbol of love), that during a victory parade celebrating a successful military campaign, a slave whispered to the conquering hero something to the effect to attend to the time after your death and remember you’re only a man—as the general was crowned with laurels.