Careful, Today Is "Dia de los Inocentes"
Don't be victim to a prank, as today is known as "el Día de los Inocentes", similar to April Fools Day celebrated on April 1 in North America and Europe.

The celebration is a mixture of Christian and Pagan traditions that resulted in one day being set aside so that people can have fun, playing pranks on their friends.

With time, the pranks have become more sophisticated with the aid of electronics like the cellular telephone and the internet and email, which is now used to send text messages and publishing false messages.

The "Día de los Santos Inocentes" - the Massacre of the Innocents - on December 28, commemorates that day more than 2,000 years ago when King Herod ordered the slaughter of male infants in his realm for fear of the prophecy that one of them would depose him from his throne.

The new-born Jesus escaped that cruel decree because Joseph and Mary had taken him to Egypt, outside of the despot's power, in obedience to the bidding of an angel.

That story has lost much of its spiritual value in this modern world, probably because we have become more practical, if not, regrettably, less reverent. In fact, the day is now regarded as an excuse for practical jokes to be played upon the "innocents," who are too ready to accept things at face value without suspicion of deception or mischief.