Massacre of the Innocents

The accounts of the Holy Scriptures have a twofold dimension. They serve as a reference to explain the principles of faith and, at the same time, allow to know the traditioncultural Jewish and Christian. In the biblical account of the Massacre of the Innocents we find the remote origin of one of the most popular celebrations in Catholic countries, the famous April 28th.

Biblical references to the massacre are found in the New Testament, specifically in the Gospels of Saint Matthew

In the time of King Herod, the news was known that a new messiah had been born in the city of Bethlehem and that some wise men from the East were going to meet him to venerate him. Before the unexpected news Herod ordered to kill all the kids under two years of age who were in Bethlehem, since the arrival of a messiah meant the appearance of a new king for the Jews.

Meanwhile, through a dream Joseph was warned by an angel to flee to Egypt with his son Jesus and Mary in order to save the life of the newborn.

The Massacre of the Innocents is shrouded in mystery

Like many other episodes included in the Bible, some historians express their doubts about the authenticity of the facts described. First of all, by margin From the references in the New Testament, there is no other evidence proving the existence of a massacre of children in the city of Bethlehem.

On the other hand, other experts argue that the historian Jew Favius ​​Josephus was the one who actually fabricated the legend of King Herod as a murderer of children in order to present him as a cruel and ruthless character.

Some scholars claim that Matthew's account of the slaughter of children should be interpreted from a theological perspective but not necessarily a historical one. As is logical, for the Catholic Church the words of the Evangelist Matthew correspond with the truth of the facts (for the catholic church it does not make sense that the evangelists tried to falsify the true story).

The origin of the innocent is different in Catholic and Protestant countries

In both Spain and Latin America, December 28 is a date singular, because during this day it is common to play witty jokes to friends and acquaintances. These jokes are popularly known as innocent. April Fools Day is actually the memory of a cruel and bloody episode, the Massacre of the Innocents described in the New Testament.

In the Anglo-Saxon world the innocent takes place on April 1 and is known as "The day of the crazy" (the expression exact in English is "April Fools´ Day"). In France it receives another name, "the poisson d´ avril".

In any case, this tradition dates back to the seventeenth century when Pope Gregory XII renewed the calendar and some people did not realize it. Those who continued to use the old calendar became known as the "April Fools", that is, people who live in ignorance and therefore act innocently.

Photo Fotolia - Renata Sedmakova