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Date Published: 28/12/2023

Spain fools around on Dia de los Santos Inocentes on December 28

How to avoid getting pranked on Spain’s Christmas version of April Fool’s Day

While in the UK cries of ‘Fool, first of April’ can be heard in school yards and homes across the country on that fateful spring day, in Spain the equivalent of the annual pranking holiday is actually held on December 28. From salt in your coffee to spiders in your shoes, nobody is safe from tricks on Dia de los Santos Inocentes, or the Day of the Holy Innocents, and social media is typically overrun with jokes designed to catch out the gullible.

History of Dia de los Santos Innocentes

For a day full of innocent fun, the holiday actually has a tragic and rather gruesome past. According to many scholars, the tradition stems from the birth of Jesus, when King Herod sent the Three Wise Men to track down the infant who was prophesied to be his downfall.

But the men tricked the king, and never returned to tell Herod of his whereabouts. Furious at being duped and determined to kill the baby Jesus, the tyrant ordered that all male babies in Bethlehem under the age of two be murdered.

Being so young when they were killed, the doomed infants were all without sin, thus they were known as ‘los Santos Inocentes’ or ‘the Holy Innocents.’

Celebrating the holiday today

These days, December 28 has taken a more whimsical turn and several Spanish TV stations even use the event to play pranks of celebrities to raise money for charity. In fact, so seriously is the holiday taken here that 40 years ago the government published the Constitution a day late so it wouldn’t coincide with Spain’s April Fool’s Day.

Don’t be fooled on Dia de los Santos Innocentes

Each year new ways to trick family and friends come in and out of fashion, but here are some classics that you can be on the look out for:

1. Coining it in

Better watch where you’re walking on December 28 as one of the classic pranks is to glue a coin to the ground and watch unsuspecting passers-by try to pick it up.

2. Watch your back

The oldies are goodies for a reason, but beware of anyone patting you on the back today. Another traditional joke is sticking a funny note on someone’s clothes in the hope they’ll walk around like a ‘fool’ all day.

3. He loves me not

In these days of technological enlightenment, our phones are bound to play a part in the trickery, but this little Spanish favourite can get decidedly awkward. The joke is to message someone in your phone book saying “I Love You,” and wait for the (hopefully) hilarious fallout.

4. Are you blanking me?

If your phone continuously pings on December 28 and you have nothing to show for it but a blank screen, you can probably blame Dia de los Santos Innocentes. By using WhatsApp’s Blank Messages application, you can drive your friends crazy all day long.

5. You’ve been punk’d

It just wouldn’t be the same holiday if we couldn’t make fun of celebrities, but be wary of what you read about your favourite star on December 28. Stories of false engagements, pregnancies and even deaths among the rich and famous will all do the rounds, so don’t believe everything you hear.

Image: Freepik

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