El Dia de los Santos Inocentes
December 28th is a religious holiday in Spanish-speaking countries, originating from the “Santos Inocentes”, the bible account of the killing of innocent children by King Herod around the time of the birth of Jesus.
Today, the festival is more for young children – practical jokes (inocentadas) and silly stories, much like April Fool’s Day in Britain. These pranks are usually innocent and funny, like sticking stickers on people’s clothes without them knowing – and the newspapers sometimes take advantage of this day to invent news, so don’t necessarily believe all you read!
On this date, yearly ‘silly’ festivals take part in some villages and towns around Spain, such as Los Locos (loonies’) in Jalance or the ‘Festa dels Enfarinats de Ibi’ in Alicante, involving a lot of eggs, flour and firecrackers.
