In his farewell poem...

It is also interesting to note that fourteen years before his execution, Rizal predicted that he would die on December 30th. He was then a medical student in Madrid, Spain. The entry in his diary reads as follows:

January 1,1883
Two nights ago, that is 30 December, I had a frightful nightmare when I almost died.I dreamt that, imitating an actor dying on stage, I felt vividly that my breath was failing and I was rapidly losing my strength. Then my vision became dim and dense darkness enveloped me---they are the pangs of death.


"I die just when I see the dawn break,
Through the gloom of night, to herald the day;
And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take,
Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake,
To dye with its crimson the waking ray"

Source: Jose Rizal
Gregorio Zaide & Sonia Zaide