The Feast of the Holy Innocents
The story behind the Feast
Feast of the Holy Innocents, also called Childermas or Innocents’ Day, is a Christian feast in remembrance of the massacre of young children in Bethlehem by King Herod the Great in his attempt to kill the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:16–18). The feast is observed by Western churches on December 28 and in the Eastern churches on December 29. The slain children were regarded by the early church as the first martyrs. The day is still observed as a religious feast day and, in Roman Catholic countries, as a day of merrymaking for children. SOURCE
HOW TO OBSERVE
On this day it is custom to give the youngest child in the household the power to rule the day. From what to eat, where to go, and what to do, the youngest is in charge. In Mexico, it is a day for children to play practical jokes and pranks on their elders. SOURCE
#HolyInnocentsDay
Though the story behind the Feast is rather gruesome, the idea is hilarious! Can you imagine a day lived like a child again? Children have no filter! They go with the flow regardless of consequences. What a feeling! How freeing! I am surprised that the Holy Innocents’ Day/Feast is not celebrated more widely with greater vehemence! We could do with a little more unfiltered fun!
We loose our innocence way too soon. We learn that our childlike ways will not suffice in the adult world. So we release our unicorns and imaginary friends and hide them in the back up our minds until they eventually vanish. We grow up and fit in, never looking back. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to be children again, just for a day? Wouldn’t it be great to believe again that our imaginary friend has special powers and can solve all our problems? Wouldn’t it feel special to know that the unicorn can fly us to any odd place that we come up with? Wouldn’t it?
