Today is Spanish April Fools’ – Dia de los Santos Inocentes!

WHILE many people who have moved here from the UK are familiar with April 1 being the day of fools and jokes, few know about Spain’s answer to this day – The Holy Innocents’ Day. 

On December 28, the day of Santos Inocentes is celebrated in Spain, and it is much like April Fool’s Day. This holiday finds children and adults playing practical jokes on each other, and is a fun day to run wild and play some pranks on your friends and family.

This celebration actually holds its origins in an event narrated in the Bible around the time of Jesus’ birth. This was when King Herod ordered that all male babies under two years old be killed to prevent the birth of Jesus Christ. As babies are seen as being innocent and without sin, the name of ‘Day of the Holy Innocents’ was born. 

However, over the centuries it has now evolved to become a fun day in which even the Spanish media usually invent a report on some outrageous and completely untrue news story, much to the nation’s delight. 

A particularly popular prank to play on this day is to stick a figure cut out of white paper on someone’s back without them realising. The word in Spanish for this practical joke is an “inocentada”, because it is innocent and actually causes no harm. In the many Christmas markets that can be found in Spain during the winter period, there are often a whole range of joke articles on offer, including wigs, itching powder, false ink, and other harmless items. 

Certain places in Spain also have their own special local celebrations on this date. These include the festivity of Los Locos (or “lunatics”) in Jalance and Valencia,  the festivity of the Holy Innocents in Nogalte, with popular dancing and bands of singers, the Danza de Los Locos, or ‘dance of the lunatics’ in in Cordoba, and on of the wildest: the ‘Festa dels Enfarinats de Ibi’, which consists of a fight fought with eggs, flour and firecrackers! 

However you choose to celebrate, remember, the point of the joke is that it is ‘innocent’, and causes no actual harm. So, get the flour, eggs, or paper to stick on your friends back, and join in on the fun!