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| The Day of the Innocents (El Día de los Inocentes) |
| January 5, 2003 | This
day recalls the killing of the "innocents" by King Herod whose intention
it was to eliminate the recently born baby Jesus. Although the reference is to
a most bloody event, the Day of the Innocents has turned into a festive tradition
in Mexico and no one really knows its origin or how it became so. As
a precautionary measure, so as not to fall prey to the pranks played on them by
friends and relatives, people are reminded not to lend anything to anyone on that
day: money, jewelry, books or any other object as they may be played for "innocents".
The joke consists in the person falling for the prank, lending something of his,
and the item is not returned. Part of the tradition consists
in the person who has been played for a fool, i.e. the "innocent", receiving
a little basket of sweets accompanied by a note saying: "inocente palomita
que te dejaste engañar, sabiendo que en este día nada se debe prestar?"
(Innocent little dove who let itself be fooled, knowing full well that you should
never lend anything to anyone on this day.) Other acts
considered "inocentadas" are those by which false news are spread in
a convincing manner and the fun is derived from those people who would believe
them. The celebration of the Día de los Santos
Inocentes goes back over two thousand years when King Herod, upon the counsel
of his kingdom's wise astrologers, found out that a new King of the Jews had just
been born in Bethlehem - as prophesized by tradition. Consequently,
Herod issued orders that all babies under the age of two were to be slain and
ever since then, the date is known as "la degollación de los santos
inocentes" (the slitting of the innocent saints' throats). Nevertheless,
the origin of the pranks associated with this date nowadays is uncertain. It is
known that the order of the Bethlehemites established in Mexico in 1673 had been
celebrating the day ever since December 28th, 1703. But when that order disappeared
in 1820, the commemoration ceased to be related to King Herod's actions and became
what it is today. Archives
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