| THE HOLY INNOCENT |
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December 28th commemorates the Magi's outwitting of King Herod, a measure that drove the King to order the killing of all Bethlehem boys of two years and younger (two years--in accordance with the time he had learned of Jesus' birth). Indeed, Herod was known to reveal his pathological insecurity through such extreme violent measures. Traditionally, those observing this holiday play practical jokes on one-another in playful attemps to fool each other, just as the Magi fooled Herod.
In Spain the tradition of playing practical jokes to commemorate this occassion was spawned during the reign of Phillip II in the antique Roman city of Ecija. On the revered date (December 28), 12 men, dressed as if they were mad, set out for the mountains to beg for money in the name of "Humanity of the Holy Souls." The tradition associated with this particular circumstance is the playful placement of funny paper dolls on the backs of unsuspecting cronies.
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