Overview
- The observance falls on Sunday, December 28, 2025, and outlets urge extra skepticism toward surprising posts, requests or announcements on social platforms.
- The commemoration recalls the Gospel of Matthew narrative in which King Herod ordered the killing of boys under two in Bethlehem, remembered by the Church as the Holy Innocents.
- Church tradition fixed the date by the fourth century, and the day later shifted in tone through medieval festivities such as the Feast of Fools and echoes of Saturnalia.
- In Mexico the date features local customs like asking for a playful “loan” that is not returned and the reveal line “Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar.”
- Sources note the historical timing of the massacre is uncertain, with estimates placing it roughly between 4 and 2 BCE.