DAY OF THE INNOCENTS 1

DAY OF THE INNOCENTS

The Day of the Holy Innocents is a Christian celebration in memory of children under two years of age who were killed in the region of Judah by order of Herod I the Great, King of Israel in the year 1 of our Era. Its commemoration takes place annually on December 28 in the Catholic world, so it is included in the liturgical calendar.

The Massacre of the Holy Innocents.

According to the New Testament gospels, after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of Judah, from the east, guided by a star, some wise magicians came to Israel in search of the place where the child was born to give him gifts. When King Herod found out, he made them go to his palace and asked them to let him know that when they found the child they would also meet him and bring him gifts. However, the king knew of the written prophecies about the birth of a Messiah in Judah and that from the east they would come to honor him. The wise men found a newborn Jesus, but on their way back to the East, they took another path and avoided telling Herod. This provoked the wrath of the King who ordered the murder of all children under the age of 2 in all of Judah, and thus avoid later being usurped from his throne by the Messiah who according to prophecy would be the King of the Jews. The wise men had warned Jesus' parents of Herod's pretensions so Joseph and Mary decided to leave Bethlehem and flee to Egypt before the massacre.

Celebration of the day of the Innocents in the world.

In commemoration of the fallen Martyrs by order of King Herod I, the Catholic Church performs its liturgies in the midst of recollection and reflection, the clergy use their purple robes and the events narrated in the Gospels are recalled.

It is also traditional in some Spanish-speaking regions to celebrate the day of the innocents on December 28 with a sense contrary to the religious one. It is about making jokes, some very heavy, between people to finally make them "fall for innocent". This way of celebrating has become customary and this is how fake news is usually made, emergency calls about something that does not really happen, all with the aim of giving the unwary a hard time who do not remember that it is a joke . The media also carry out television specials and compile the "muddy" and false starts that have been presented during the transmissions throughout the year.

This peculiar way of celebrating has its origin in the so-called Feast of the Fools , which was a form of festivity among the clergy and occurred after Christmas and before the day of the Three Kings. Among priests, deacons and other members of the clergy, it was common during this date, to dedicate sarcastic chants, jokes, punishments and some parodies. For this reason, it ends up being an annual celebration that coincides with the Day of the Holy Innocents. Currently, in some European countries something similar to the Fiesta de los Locos is held, although on a different date. This corresponds to April 1 and is called the Day of Jokes.

Días Festivos en el Mundo