I’m always on guard on April 1st because my life is filed with pranksters. My natural skepticism is enhanced (it’s a skill I developed over decades as a working journalist). And it’s not easy this year because I decided to give up cynicism for Lent – so I’m an easy target for pranks and jokes and general mischief.
That said, I’m staying close to home all day and ignoring my phone.
Many Latinos get a double dose of prank filled days. Across Latin America April 1st is nothing more than the first day of the fourth month of the year. Their joke and prank day is December 28th, Dia de los Santos Inocentes. It’s a commemoration started in Spain that, according to About.com, spread across Latin America.
December 28th is a day of practical jokes, similar to what we in the USA celebrate on April Fool’s Day. Dia de los Santos Inocentes – Day of the Holy Innocents is a religious holiday named in honor of the young children who were slaughtered by order of King Herod around the time of Jesus’ birth. These young victims were called Santos Inocentes or “Holy Innocents” because they were too young and innocent to have committed any sins. Although the feast remains on the Catholic Liturgical calendar, today the religious aspect has been almost forgotten and the pranks that became popular during the Middle Ages have been combined with winter festivities of pagan origin.
Which one do you celebrate?
Follow Victor Landa on Twitter: @vlanda
[Photo by disterics]
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