The Day of Life and Death

**The Day of Life and Death** was a Kentotran holiday paying respect to the mortal life cycle. It took place on the last day of winter, a date that changed depending on the year.

## Traditions

The morning of this day was dedicated to remembering those who died within the year. Families would set displays outside of their homes with a trinket for each dead loved one. A copper pendant represented a deceased adult, and a seashell represented a deceased child or teen. If a deceased teen would have been an adult by the time the holiday rolled around, their family was allowed to set out a copper pendant for them instead. Though the holiday was for recent deaths, families still created these displays both to remember their previously lost loved ones and to join their neighbors in decorating their homes. Many families would go further in adorning their displays, decorating with colors and objects that their lost loved ones enjoyed in life.

Morning customs depended on the family. Many simply hosted breakfasts and get-togethers, reminiscing on good times with their loved ones. More devout families would spend the morning in deep prayer, thanking Go'Shrahd and Klakelaya for protecting their loved ones in death. Some even planned second funerals for their recently deceased, especially for those still in grieving or who missed the first service. No matter what families did, speaking ill of the dead was forbidden on this day, even for immoral people. Those who had ill opinions of a deceased person were not forced to mourn, but they were still expected to bite their tongues to respect their grieving neighbors.

The afternoon was reserved for celebrating children born within the year. Any family with an infant child under a year old would perform a ceremony for their child, sometimes at home or at a temple. In this ceremony, a respected adult-- often the head of the family or a priest, but rarely the child's parents-- would paint a small circle on the infant's forehead with black squid ink. The family would then come together in prayer, wishing for lifelong health and success for the child. Often, families who did not host a meal in the morning would do so in the afternoon or evening to celebrate their child.

If a baby was born on this day or the day before, or if they were in too poor health, the parents could decide to delay the ceremony for a year. However, skipping the ceremony two years in a row was met with great scorn, as it was seen as disrespectful and uncaring toward the child's well-being. Some of the few agnostic families would perform the ceremony purely to avoid this judgment, but others remained steadfast in their decision. Though there were cases of people attempting the ceremony on an agnostic family's child, it was still frowned upon as the practice was considered too sacred for an outsider to take over for themselves.

Though there was a strong emphasis on what time of day and what order these practices occurred in, there was no pressure to stick to the established order if the family's schedule didn't allow for it. People often traveled to celebrate with other families, such as in-laws or families of friends, so their own traditions would have to wait until later.

## Significance

Despite the seemingly niche participant range of those who had either lost a loved one or had a baby within the past year, this day was highly respected to the extent that it was a federal holiday.

TBC