What is the difference?
When it comes to traditions and holidays, every culture has its own unique way of celebrating. In Spain, two similar holidays that are often compared to each other are Día de los Santos Inocentes and April Fool’s Day. While both holidays involve pranks and jokes, there are several key differences between the two.
Día de los Santos Inocentes; December 28th
Día de los Santos Inocentes, or “Day of the Holy Innocents,” is a holiday that takes place in Spain on December 28th. The holiday has a religious origin and commemorates the story of King Herod, who ordered the massacre of all male infants in Bethlehem in an attempt to kill baby Jesus. According to tradition, on Día de los Santos Inocentes, people are allowed to play harmless pranks and jokes on each other, similar to April Fool’s Day. However, the pranks are meant to be playful and not meant to be hurtful or malicious.
April Fool’s Day; April 1st
April Fool’s Day is a holiday celebrated in many countries on the first day of April. It is a day filled with pranks, practical jokes, and hoaxes. People play tricks on each other, and the goal is to fool someone into believing something that is not true. The origins of this holiday are not entirely clear, but it is believed to have started in France in the 16th century.
One popular theory about the origins of April Fool’s Day is that it is related to the change in the calendar that occurred in the 16th century. Before the Gregorian calendar was introduced, the new year was celebrated on April 1st. When the new calendar was introduced, which moved the start of the year to January 1st, some people were slow to adopt the new system. Those who continued to celebrate the new year on April 1st were ridiculed and became the butt of practical jokes.
Every year somebody gets fooled
Regardless of its origins, April Fool’s Day has become a popular holiday around the world. Many people look forward to it and plan elaborate pranks to play on their friends and family. Some of the most common pranks include fake news stories, prank phone calls, and sending someone on a wild goose chase.
One of the most famous pranks in recent years was when Google introduced the “Mic Drop” feature in Gmail in 2016. The feature allowed users to send an email and add a GIF of a Minion character dropping a microphone, indicating that the conversation was over. However, the feature caused confusion and frustration, as some users accidentally sent the Mic Drop GIF to important contacts, causing them to miss important messages.
I dare say we have all been pranked, in one way or the other. Hey-ho! Watch yourself on April 1st 2023. Want to see a really cheesey fool’s day website? These are worse than dad jokes!!
You may be wondering why there is a picture of parading guardsmen? Say “hello!” to my own regiment, the 1st Battalion of Irish Guards, formed on 1st April 1900. What else happened on April 1st? Check out this Historical Events website.
