God vs Science

The atheist professor of Philosophy pauses before his class and asks one of his new students to stand.

You are a Christian, aren’t you son?

Yes Sir, the student says.

So you believe in God?

Absolutely!

Is God Good?

Sure, God is good!

Is God all-powerful?

Can God do anything?

Yes!!!

Are you good or evil?

The Bible says I am evil.

The professor grins knowingly. Ah the Bible! He considers for a moment. Here’s one for you, let’s say there’s a sick person over hera and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?

Yes Sir, I would…

So, you are good!

I wouldn’t say that.

But why not saying that? You’d help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could but God doesn’t.

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. He doesn’t, does He? My brother was a Christian who died of Cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good?

Can you answer that one?

The student remains silent. No, you can’t, can you? The professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk, to give the student time to relax. Let’s start again young fella. Is God good?

Eh, yes, the student says.

Is Satan good?

The student doesn’t hesitate on this one. No!

Then where does Satan come from?

The student falters. From God.

That’s right. God made Satan, didn’t He? Tell me son, is there Evil in this world?

Yes Sir.

Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything, didn’t He?

Yes.

So who created Evil? The professor continued. If God created everything, then God created Evil, since Evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, God is Evil.

Again, the student doesn’t have an answer. Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?

The student squirms on his feet. Yes.

So who created them?

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. Who created them?

Still no answer. Suddenly, the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. Tell me, he continues onto another student. Do you believe in Jesus Christ son?

The student’s voice betrays him and cracks, yes professor, I do.

The old man stops pacing, Science says you have five senses which you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?

No Sir, I have never seen him.

Then, tell us if you have ever heard your Jesus?

No Sir, I have not.

Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelled your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ or God for that matter?

No Sir, I am afraid I haven’t.

Yet, you still believe in him?

Yes Sir, I do.

According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that son?

Nothing, the student replies. I only have my faith.

Yes, faith, the professor repeats. And that is the problem science has with God, there is no evidence, only faith.

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of his own. Professor, is there such thing as heat?

Yes.

And is there such thing as cold?

Yes son, there’s cold too.

No Sir, there isn’t.

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet.

You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don’t have anything called cold. We can heat down to 458 degrees below zero, which is not heat but we cannot go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see Sir; cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, it’s just the absence of it.

Silence across the room.

What about darkness professor, is there such thing as darkness?

Yes, the professor replies without hesitation. What’s night if it isn’t darkness?

You are wrong again sir, darkness is not something but the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light and flashing light but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it is called darkness, isn’t it? That’s the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn’t. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. So what point are you making young man?

My point professor is, your philosophical premise is flawed to begin with, so you conclusion must also be flawed.

The professor’s face cannot hide his surprise this time. Flawed? Can you explain how?

You are working on the premise of duality, the student explains. You argue that there is life and then there is death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less understand either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life; it is just the absence of it. Now tell me professor, do you teach you students that they evolved from a monkey?

If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process young man, yes, of course I do.

Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes Sir?

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. Very good semester, indeed.

Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, aren’t you teaching your opinion Sir? Are you not now a scientist but a preacher?

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean. The student looks around the room and asks: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor’s brain? The class breaks out into laughter. Is there anyone here that has ever heard the professor’s brain, felt the professor’s brain, touched or smelled the professor’s brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol science says that you have no brain, with all due respect Sir. So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, Sir?

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. I guess you’ll have to take them on faith.

Now you accept that there is faith and, in fact faith exists with life, the student continues. Now Sir, is there such thing as evil?

Now uncertain, the professor responds. Of course, there is. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.

To this the student replied: Evil does not exist, Sir or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God.  It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like that cold that comes when there is not heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.

The professor sat down.

If you read it all the way down and had a smile on your face when you finished, send it to your friends and family with the title God vs Science.

 

Ps. - The student was in fact Albert Einstein. He wrote a book titled “God vs Science”

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Remedy for Cancer (shared as I got it)

Please read and share

A cure for Cancer. Do not keep it read it and forward it!

Why not trying it in extreme cases where the patient has been diagnosed hopeless?

Try it out and do not trust so much chemotherapy!

Youth is short! Old age is long!

Under the principle: “if it does not cure, it won’t do you any harm” you should use it. In this house we are using this remedy with our maid. She had a tumor in her breast, of the size of a kiwi.

The doctor told me that the prognosis was not flattering because the tumor had several ramifications. She had to go back the following week to get more studies.

My maid prepared the recipe as she was told and she began taking it 3 times a day, but instead of taking 1 full spoon she was taking 2 full spoons before each meal. That is the way I got it the first time.

She went back to the doctor a week after, the tumor had been reduced half a centimeter, they could not find it. The doctors asked her if she had done something different from what she was told to do and she told them about that I had shown her how to prepare a natural remedy.

They told her to keep taking it and asked her to go back the following week. She went back a week later and the tumor had completely disappeared. The doctor asked her if she could write down the recipe due to the excellent proven results.

The doctor who saw her is a breast cancer specialist and she is a very good friend of mine to whom I deeply appreciate her support.

You may think it was faith, it was a miracle, you want to think we are crazy, whatever you want to think is ok, but we must do it. It is worthy and many lives can be saved. Just remember nothing can be lost and it might be worth a lot. If it does not cure it would not be harmful.

 

Franciscan Friar Cures Cancer.

 

A simple recipe aloe based prepared by a Franciscan priest that is willing to share, causes stir @ the mountains of Judea. “It is not a miracle; you can cure Cancer and other diseases. This is a natural remedy against Cancer. I cure Cancer and anyone can do it without miracles, using only products provided by nature” said the priest.

Before I give you the recipe I want to tell you my personal experience about this blessed remedy. I have the knowledge of several patients that have been healed after taking this potion; all of them were given less than a month of life due to different types of terminal Cancer.

After discovering the properties of this natural remedy I have decide to make it public though the internet so anyone who has a friend, a relative o that knows someone with Cancer can prepare this recipe and can give it away. You will see results after a week, I can assure you that. It is something that works fast.

 

The recipe is as follows:

½ kilo of pure honey

2 large leaves or 3 small leaves of aloe

3 spoons of Whiskey, Cognac, Tequila or Brandy (this is used as a vessel expander)

Wash and cut the thorns of the aloe leaves; chop them and liquefy them in the blender until it seems like a viscous pasty after that, it is ready to be taken.

It can be left out of the fridge or you can put it in it. You must liquefy the leaves with their peel. Do not strain (filter) the remedy.

The friar says that you must take one full tablespoon, 3 times a day, 15 minutes before each meal for 10 days in a row. It is recommended to shake it before you take it.

The friar says that if abscesses in the skin emerge it means it is working, it is a good sign.

He continues: “if after taking the remedy for the first time the expected results have not been obtained you must repeat the treatment after the proper examinations are taken to check if the tumor has reduced its size or not. Take the remedy 4 extra times until the patient is cured.

It has been 6 years since the friar has been using this remedy with great results. It has cured several people @ Belen and its surroundings. He claims that it cures not only Cancer but it also prevents it. It cures skin Cancer, brain Cancer, lung Cancer, prostate Cancer, leukemia, etc.

He says that lately he has cured a 29 Italian religious woman that had sclerosis.

In my experience, as I previously said, I have the testimony of other people that have been cured.

Please share this. I want to let you know that this remedy does not only cure Cancer, it is natural cell restorer and it reinforces our immune system.

It is known that there have been several healings of many types of Cancer, including diabetic people.

Please share it with your friend and family, co-workers and with everybody you might know. Support people suffering with Cancer, let them know they are important and that you pray for them. As it came to me I am sharing it with you… It might help someone. Do the same please.

Against Cancer

DOCTORS DO NOT SHARE THIS BECAUSE IT IS CHEAP. READ CAREFULLY AND PLEASE SHARE IT, SOMEONE MAY NEED IT!!!

         The recommended dose is: ½ a liter of water, the juice of 3 lemons and a coffee spoon of Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda). You have to take it on an empty stomach during the morning. It can be divided in two takes during the day, but do not take them in between meals. The best form is to take it every day even after healing from Cancer because it can always return and it is important to prevent it.

         The Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) is one of the most powerful alkalizing that exists. Otto Heinrich Warburg (Nobel Prize winner in 1931 for his thesis “The main cause and the prevention of Cancer” he said that the “Cancerous cells live in an extremely acid environment and lacking Oxygen. Healthy cells live in an alkaline 6 oxygenated environment which allows their normal performance. Depriving a cell from 35% of its Oxygen during 48 hours may provably transform them into cancerous cells. The acid substances reject Oxygen. Cancerous cells are anaerobic (they do not breath Oxygen) and THEY CANNOT SURVIVE in the presence of high levels of Oxygen but they survive thanks to GLUCOSE as long as there is an Oxygen free environment. Cancerous tissues are acid tissues while healthy tissues are alkaline. Therefore, Cancer would be nothing more than a defensive mechanism that some cells in the organism have to continue living in an acid environment and lacking Oxygen”.

Dose: ½ liter of water, the juice of 3 lemons and a coffee spoon of Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda). You have to take it on an empty stomach during the morning. It can be divided in two takes during the day, but not in between meals. The best form is to take it every day even after healing from Cancer because it can always come back and it is important to prevent it.

Doctor Elizabeth Izquierdo:

“I am a doctor and I refuse to think that radiation and Chemotherapies are the only ones that cure Cancer”.

Defeating Cancer:

You have an unsuspected ally. Inside your medicine chest you can find the Kryptonite for Cancer.

Who would it say it? The humble and cheap Sodium Bicarbonate, according to the most recent and shocking researches it STOPS AND CURES CANCER!!! And that is not all, it also eases in a very important way the secondary effects so negative of Chemotherapy. That is right, conventional specialists, those who are part, knowingly or not, of the biggest financial predator in the history, the complex pharmacist and medical industry, they are still convinced that Cancer a impenetrable mystery. The “solution” for Cancer according to the organized medicine resides in 3 very risky and highly invasive procedures: surgery, Chemotherapy and radiation. But the solution may be in your bathroom’s medicine chest. In the book “Winning the War on Cancer”, Dr. Mark Sircus addresses the topic on Sodium Bicarbonate which helps saving countless lives every day. The Sodium Bicarbonate is the method known long time ago to accelerate the return to normal levels of Bicarbonate in the body and it is also the cheapest, safe and maybe the most effective medicine that exists against Cancer. The Sodium Bicarbonate provides the body with a natural form of Chemotherapy that kills cancerous cells effectively without the demolishing secondary effects and the expensive costs of the conventional Chemotherapy treatments.

Do you know what the problem is for doctors to prescribe this remedy? That it is too cheap. Due to the reason that no one can get rich and make tons of money with something so simple, nobody promotes it. So simple and so cruel reality; and yet provably until today you had not heard from it, because it is simple and cheap and therefore they lack the support to be investigated and to be published.

         The conventional medical community has turned the back to Dr. Simoncini and to other of his colleagues, because he has refused to use the conventional methods, as the honest Oncologist he is, deciding to give his patients Sodium Bicarbonate; having an impressive success of 99% of breast Cancer cases. The bladder Cancer can be fully cured in a very short period of time, without surgery, no Chemotherapy, no Radiotherapy by using only an infiltration machine (similar to a catheter) in order to infuse the Sodium Bicarbonate directly to the affected area where ever it is located, either it is in the breast or in the bladder, but it can be also consumed orally.

Pharmaceuticals:

         The Pharmaceuticals are so aware that Sodium Bicarbonate applied to tumors eventually disappear them fast that nowadays many of the Chemotherapy treatments include the Sodium Bicarbonate with the “excuse” that it helps protecting the kidneys, the heart and the nervous system of the patient. It has been determined that giving Chemotherapy without Sodium Bicarbonate can kill a patient right there. So, when we hear today about Chemotherapy “successes” especially with TV and Cable reports about celebrities miraculously getting cured what it is not informed to us is that it is precisely the Sodium Bicarbonate that is working not only to stop the Metastasis and cure Cancer, but also it is diminishing the to the minimum the harmful secondary effects from the fearsome toxic poisons of Chemotherapy. Dr. Sircus assures that: “There is not a single study that separates the Sodium Bicarbonate effects from the toxic agents of Chemotherapy, and there will not be” says resignedly Dr. Sircus.

The emotional factor: Long time ago it is known that extreme anguish or anxiety, the loss of a beloved one, failure to accomplish goals, existential dilemmas, moral or emotional traumas, etcetera, may trigger a series of physical illnesses, migraines, hypertension, lowering of the immune system, etcetera, reaching up to Cancer, and this is logical if there were not a fast lowering in the immunologic system whether it is a sudden or chronic one, there would not be a way, according to recent studies, in which fungus that cause Cancer would proliferate so much that could jeopardize life. 

Dose: ½ a liter of water, the juice of 3 lemons and a coffee spoon of Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda). You have to take it on an empty stomach during the morning. It can be divided in two takes during the day, but do not take them in between meals. The best form is to take it every day even after healing from Cancer because Cancer can always return and it is important to prevent it.

Drinking lemonade as water every day is a must and it works better if you add a tea spoon of BAKING SODA.

 

          The Lemon, (Citrus limonun Risso, Citrus limon (L.)  Burm, Citrus medica) is a miraculous product that kills cancer cells. It is 10, 000 times stronger than chemotherapy.

Why aren’t we aware of this?

Because there are organizations interested in finding a synthetic version of it, which may allow them make great profits. After this information you may help someone that needs this by sharing this information, letting him know that it is convenient for him to drink lemon juice with baking soda in order to prevent cancer. Its taste is nice and of course it does not cause the horrible effects of chemotherapy. If you have the possibility, plant a lemon tree is your garden, all its parts are useful.

Next time you want to drink a juice take a natural lemon juice without preservatives.

The fruit of the lemon comes in different presentations, its pulp may be eaten directly or you may use it to elaborate beverages, sorbets, candies and etcetera.

The interest on this plant is due to its strong effects anti-cancer, and even though some other properties are attributed to it, the most interesting part of it is the effect that produces over the cysts and tumors. This plant is the proven remedy against all types of cancer and the baking soda changes the PH of your body. There are people that assure that lemon is useful in all cancer variations.

Lemon is considered as an anti-microbial agent of wide spectrum against bacterial infections and fungi which live in acid environments so by adding baking soda to your lemonade you change the PH of your body; it is effective against internal parasites and warms; it regulates high blood pressure and the nervous disorders.

The source of this information is fascinating; it comes from one of the biggest medicine manufacturers in the world who claims that after more than 20 laboratory tests, performed after 1970 the extracts revealed that:

It destroys malignant cells from 12 different types of cancer including colon cancer, chest cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer and pancreas cancer.

The compounds of this tree demonstrated that they work 10, 000 times better delaying cancer cells growth than Adriamycin a chemotherapeutic drug normally used around the world.

And what is more astonishing this form of therapy using lemon extract and baking soda destroys only cancer malignant cells and it does not affect healthy cells.

This report was published by The Health Science Institute LO.L.C. 819 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 1201.

The National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago

The National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago has an unusual work of art which you may not have even known existed!

When visitors first enter the museum, they will hear a sound like wind chimes coming from above them and their attention will be drawn upward 24 feet to the ceiling of the two-story high atrium.

The dog tags of the more than 58,000 service men and women who died in the Vietnam War, were hung from the ceiling of the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago on Veterans Day, November 11, 2010. The 10-by-40-foot sculpture, entitled Above & Beyond, was designed by Ned Broderick and Richard Stein.

The thousands of metal dog tags are suspended 24 feet in the air, 1 inch apart, from fine lines that allow them to move and chime with shifting air currents. Museum employees using a kiosk and laser pointer help visitors locate the exact dog tag with the imprinted name of a lost friend or relative.

"If you can read this, thank a Teacher ...
If you are reading it in English, thank a VET!!"          

Password registration

"Please register your password to obtain affordable care."
 

roses
 

"Sorry, too few characters."
 

pretty roses
 

"Sorry, you must use at least one numerical character."
  

1 pretty rose
 

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1prettyrose
 

"Sorry, you must use at least 10 different characters."
  

1fuckingprettyrose
 

"Sorry, you must use at least one upper case character."
  

1FUCKINGprettyrose
 

"Sorry, you cannot use more than one upper case character consecutively."
  

1FuckingPrettyRose
 

"Sorry, you must use no fewer than 20 total characters when upper case
is used."        

FuckingPrettyRoseShovedUpYourAssIfYouDon'tGiveMeAccessRightF

fuckingNow

"Sorry, you cannot use punctuation."

1FuckingPrettyRoseShovedUpYourAssIfYouDontGiveMeAccessRightFuckingNow
 

"Sorry, that password is already in use."

Day of the Dead.

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where the day is a bank holiday. The celebration takes place on October 31, November 1 and November 2, in connection with the Christian triduum of Hallowmas: All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' DayTraditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl . The holiday has spread throughout the world: In Brazil Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures.

Origins

Detail of an ofrenda depicting a Mayan making an offering to the dead.

Development of giant skull for Day of the Dead celebration at the National Museum of Popular Culture, Coyoacan, Mexico City.
The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back to a precolumbian past. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors had been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years. In the pre-Hispanic era skulls were commonly kept as trophies and displayed during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.
The festival that became the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the ztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the modern Catrina.

 

In most regions of Mexico November 1 is to honor children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2. This is indicated by generally referring to November 1 mainly as Día de los Inocentes ("Day of the Innocents") but also as Día de los Angelitos ("Day of the Little Angels") and November 2 as Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos ("Day of the Dead").

Beliefs

 

Xantolo traditional altar at Hidalgo

 



 Altar of the dead      

 

Catholic altar of the dead

                             

Sculpture with skeletons made for Day of the Dead at the Museo de Arte Popular, Mexico City
 

Part of the "megaofrenda" at UNAM for Day of the Dead

 

Chontal indigenous altar, at Tabasco

 

Frances Ann Day summarizes the three day celebration, the Day of the Dead: On October 31, All Hallows Eve, the children make a children's altar to invite the angelitos (spirits of dead children) to come back for a visit. November 1 is All Saints Day, and the adult spirits will come to visit. November 2 is All Souls Day, when families go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of their relatives. The three-day fiesta filled with marigolds, the flowers of the dead; muertos (the bread of the dead); sugar skulls; cardboard skeletons; tissue paper decorations; fruit and nuts; incense, and other traditional foods and decorations.
People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.
Plans for the day are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the three-day period families usually clean and decorate graves; most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas (offerings), which often include orange Mexican marigolds called cempasúchil (originally named cempoaxochitl, Nahuatl for "twenty flowers").
In modern Mexico this name is sometimes replaced with the term Flor de Muerto (Flower of Dead). These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings. 

Mixtec ofrenda of Day of the Dead

 

Mexican Cempasuchitl (marigold) is the traditional flower used at honor to the dead

Toys are brought for dead children (los angelitos, or "the little angels"), and bottles of Tequila, Mezcal or Pulque or jars of Atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto ("bread of dead"), and sugar skulls and beverages such as atole. The ofrendas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the ofrendas food, so though the celebrators eat the food after the festivities, they believe it lacks nutritional value. Pillows and blankets are left out so the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico such as the towns of Mizquic, Patzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives. In many places people have picnics at the grave site, as well.
Some families build altars or small shrines in their homes; these usually have the Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, scores of candles and an ofrenda. Traditionally, families spend some time around the altar, praying and telling anecdotes about the deceased. In some locations celebrants wear shells on their clothing, so when they dance, the noise will wake up the dead; some will also dress up as the deceased.
Public schools at all levels build altars with ofrendas, usually omitting the religious symbols. Government offices usually have at least a small altar, as this holiday is seen as important to the Mexican heritage.
Those with a distinctive talent for writing sometimes create short poems, called calaveras (skulls), mocking epitaphs of friends, describing interesting habits and attitudes or funny anecdotes. This custom originated in the 18th or 19th century, after a newspaper published a poem narrating a dream of a cemetery in the future, "and all of us were dead", proceeding to read the tombstones. Newspapers dedicate calaveras to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons in the style of the famous calaveras of José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican illustrator. Theatrical presentations of Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1817–1893) are also traditional on this day.
A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (in Spanish calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas (colloquial term for skeleton), and foods such as sugar or chocolate skulls, which are inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead. Sugar skulls as gifts can be given to both the living and the dead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto, a sweet egg bread made in various shapes from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits, often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.
José Guadalupe Posada created a famous print of a figure he called La Calabera Catrina ("The Elegant Skull") as a parody of a Mexican upper-class female. Posada's striking image of a costumed female with a skeleton face has become associated with the Day of the Dead, and Catrina figures often are a prominent part of modern Day of the Dead observances.

 



Gran calavera eléctrica ("Great electric skull") by José Guadalupe Posada, 1900–1913

The traditions and activities that take place in celebration of the Day of the Dead are not universal, often varying from town to town. For example, in the town of Pátzcuaro on the Lago de Patzcuaro in Michoacan, the tradition is very different if the deceased is a child rather than an adult. On November 1 of the year after a child's death, the godparents set a table in the parents' home with sweets, fruits, pan de muerto, a cross, a rosary (used to ask the Virgin Mary to pray for them) and candles. This is meant to celebrate the child's life, in respect and appreciation for the parents. There is also dancing with colorful costumes, often with skull-shaped masks and devil masks in the plaza or garden of the town. At midnight on November 2, the people light candles and ride winged boats called mariposas (butterflies) to Janitzio, an island in the middle of the lake where there is a cemetery, to honor and celebrate the lives of the dead there.