Plan Your Epitaph Day

Plan Your Epitaph Day is an American holiday dedicated to writing your own epitaph. On the one hand it is a rather gloomy day, but it allows you to reflect on yourself and your achievements, to understand what you still need to achieve in life. It is celebrated annually on April 6.

History

Death is one of the most popular themes in philosophy. People perceive the end of life in different ways. Given the high degree of religious involvement in this question, no one can give an exact answer about “What after death?” Some people believe in an afterlife, while others claim emptiness. Along with the body, the brain also dies. Man is just a living machine, just as any technical device stops working, so does each of us. It is a natural process from which we cannot escape.

The idea for Plan Your Epitaph Day belongs to Lance Hardy. The holiday appeared in 1995. The idea of this day was for a person to write a few lines about himself, which could be embossed on his tombstone. Thanks to the epitaph, people can roughly imagine what the man was like and what he achieved in life.

Interesting facts

• It is believed that the first epitaphs were created by the Ancient Greeks. At that time they were written exclusively in verse form.
• On the tombstone of the scientist Ludolph van Ceulen, are stamped the 35 digits of the number pi, which we know as the infinite number set. It signifies his main discovery.
• On the tombstone of Billy Wilder, the director of “Only Girls in Jazz,” is a line from that film.

How to celebrate

Write your own epitaph in verse form. You can ask friends and acquaintances what they would say about you briefly.

Spread the word about the holiday on social media. Share epitaphs with other users.

When is Plan Your Epitaph Day celebrated in 2024?

Plan Your Epitaph Day is observed on April 6 each year.

Observations