Overview
- This article is about the holiday. For other uses, see Day of the Departed (disambiguation).
The Day of the Departed is a sacred holiday celebrated by the people of Ninjago. Once every year, the citizens light lanterns to commemorate their fallen ancestors and friends, while also spending time with their families.
History
History[]
Following the Sky Pirate conflict, Ninjago celebrated the holiday once again, coincidentally falling on a Yin-Yang Eclipse, with the ninja spreading out across the land of Ninjago to remember their ancestors. Zane remembers Dr. Julien at Birchwood Forest, Kai and Nya remember Ray and Maya at their blacksmith shop, Lloyd and Misako remember Garmadon at the Corridor of Elders, and Wu remembers his father at the Monastery of Spinjitzu, while Jay spends time with his parents at their junkyard.
In the meantime, Cole goes to the Temple of Airjitzu to settle his debt with Master Yang. However, a sinister plot by Yang leads Cole to free the spirits of the ninja's old enemies from the Departed Realm, including Samukai, Kozu, Cryptor, Chen and Morro, all of whom possess statues at the Ninjago Museum of History. Seeking revenge, the revived villains spread throughout Ninjago to confront their adversaries.
One by one, each of the villains were defeated by their respective targets and regrouped outside the Ninjago Museum of History where they realized they had forgotten about Cole. Meanwhile, Master Yang began to carve open the Rift of Return by using the Yin Blade during the Yin-Yang Eclipse. Cole and Yang clashed, with Cole unlocking the Earth Punch. Using this new technique, Cole shattered the Yin Blade, breaking Yang's hold over his students. Although Cole prepared to leave, he listened to Yang's lament that he would one day be forgotten and had a change of heart. Cole then offered to carry both himself and Yang into the rift, but Yang revealed that one ghost must remain as the master of the temple. He then hurled Cole into the rift, returning Cole to his human state, while Yang remained behind as the master of the temple.
With the Temple of Airjitzu now purified and returned to its original condition, the ninja decided to move in as their new headquarters.
Appearances
Appearances[]
Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu[]
Day of the Departed[]
Season 7: The Hands of Time[]
- 65. "The Hands of Time" (mentioned)
Ninjago Magazine[]
- 19. Special Delivery From Stiix! (mentioned)
- 21. Haunted Temple Extravaganza (mentioned)
- 22. The Clean-up! (flashback)
- 84. Here Comes the Flood! (mentioned)
Trivia
Trivia[]
- The holiday seems to be a combination of several different traditions from many different cultures, including Halloween, Memorial Day, Día de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead), and Chinese and Japanese Lantern Festivals; it involves costumes, candy, celebrating and honoring the dead, and lighting lanterns for one's ancestors. In particular, it seems to draw inspiration from the Japanese festival of Obon, a similar holiday to Día de Los Muertos in which the spirits of one's ancestors are honored.
- The characters release lanterns into the air to honor spirits of the deceased, similar to Bon Festivals in Japan. In the special, spirits come back from the Departed Realm and enter statues of themselves, which is based on how spirits would supposedly visit household altars during Bon Festivals.
- People also settle their debts on this day.
- The Royal Blacksmiths have a song based on this holiday, entitled "Be My Day of the Departed Baby."
- October 29, the US air date for "Day of the Departed" in 2016, can be considered the real-life "Day of the Departed" date.[1]
- The Day of the Departed is "a unique Ninjago holiday. A bit of everything"[2] and is "inspired by holidays all over the world."[3]
- The same lanterns used on the Day of the Departed were used during Dragon Day. It is unknown whether this is because the holidays are somehow connected or just the same lanterns being used.
Gallery
Gallery[]
Promotional media[]
In Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu[]
