The origin of Day of the Holy Innocents, December 28is downright dark: King Herod, obsessed with the idea that a new king of the Jews has been born, orders the killing of all children under the age of 2 in and around Bethlehem.

It was also revenge. The wise men leave Herod alone, that he had to wait for them to give him the location of Jesus, and then, in anger, he takes it out on all the children.

Did Herod really do this? The big? Although historians cannot fully match the dates, they qualify it as a credible fact when the character of this monarch is taken into account, who had already executed his second wife Mariamne and his two sons Alexander and Aristobulus.

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How did this become the current Ibero-American celebration (yes, celebration) of practical jokes, satires and pranks involving big and small brands and the general public?

On April 1, the jokes are not only between family and friends, big brands and the media also try to position themselves by changing their usual content. Photo: Shutterstock

The date has characteristics of the ancient Roman festival of Saturnaliain which people exchanged roles, especially masters and slaves, and had fun exchanging grotesque gifts.

It’s a once-a-year opportunity to put your sense of humor first; The goal is to catch others off guard and keep them misled for as long as possible.

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Spain is the country that takes the burlesque festival most seriously, with traditions such as the struggle for the flowered people or new justice, in the village of Ibi, in Alicante. The street and the partygoers are covered in eggs, fireworks and flour, divided into two sides that try to seize power for a day. It has characteristics of the Ecuadorian way of… carnival.

On April 1, the jokes are not only between family and friends, big brands and the media also try to position themselves by changing their usual content.
Photo: Shutterstock

Something similar happens in the town of Tremp, in the province of Lérida, where A giant paper figure (llufa) is hung and burned after the party. just like we do in our country with pop or New Year’s Eve.

They did that in Jalance, Valencia the Festival of the Fools, where young people, dressed and made up in the most eccentric ways, take control of the city and they lead the Baile de los Locos by night.

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It is nobler the Inocente Gala, a charity event which raises money for organizations dedicated to children’s services.

There is an equivalent in English-speaking countries, April’s fools (April Fools, would be the direct translation), the first day of that month.

It’s not all laughs, though. Emergency services are prepared and are warning people that it is never a good idea to play pranks on their operators. because it endangers lives.

Some examples of soft and bad jokes

Five years ago, Fanta presented its olive cola in response to the requests of his millions of followers, who begged him for new flavors. The soft drink promised to revolutionize 2018 with its olive green can.

Are you tired of having your Coke Cao taken? The brand announced in 2016 that the lid of its bottles would now have a fingerprint reader so that only the person who paid for the product, the owner, can discover it.

The technology giant Google also scored some jokes like when four years ago he presented one app to clean the phone screen. by the alias Screen cleanerusers who activated it would receive a digital assistant that would move up and down the screen (like I’m cleaning a building).

The phone vibrates when the physical screen of the smartphone was clean.

He Hallogram from Samsung (which you projected to your conversation partner when answering a call), a dating room on spotify to find your ‘half hearing aid’ or how Burger King announced it would change its name to Burguer King in Spain, They too are remembered for this day which is now celebrated with humour.