It’s a holiday that commemorates the massacre of children by King Herod as he was attempting to find and kill baby Jesus. These children have been immortalized as the first martyrs of the early church, and it has been celebrated as such since before it became a part of Epiphany during the 5th century.
It’s also a holiday that’s celebrated a little bit differently in Mexico. Sure, it’s still observed as a Christian holiday, but it’s also observed as a day for practical jokes — much in the same way that April Fool’s Day is celebrated. Of course, that’s not the only thing that sets this holiday apart from other countries’ celebrations of this day. Let’s take a closer look to find out more.
In this section, we’re not going to go over the entire history of the Massacre of the Innocents. We already covered that with our other coverage of this holiday. We will say that it’s based on the story of Herod as told in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 2, verses 1-18 of the Holy Bible.