Day of the Holy Innocents

Today is a special day in Mexico. Today we celebrate Día de los Santos Inocentes, or Day of the Holy Innocents. In a number of ways, the holiday is like a Mexican version of April Fool's Day. The day is filled with jokes and pranks. According to my tíos, if you are lent something on this day, you don't have to return it. [Warning to my friends, family and co-workers: don't trust me today. I won't play nice.]

As "joshing around" comes quite naturally to me, I am excited for today's shenanigans. But, what is Day of the Holy Innocents anyways?

A quick google-search revealed that it is the day we recall the innocent baby boys executed by King Herod near Bethlehem after Jesus' birth. M. Daniel Carrol shares

Not long after Jesus was born, he and his parents had to leave Bethlehem. The Gospel of Matthew informs us that Herod the Great wanted to kill him [Matt. 2:13-14]. Herod had been told by the three magi that they were on their way to see the newborn king of the Jews [2:1-8]. Herod was fearful and jealous of any rival to his throne. When the magi did not report back, Herod ordered the slaughter of all the young boys in the area around Bethlehem [2:16-18]... 

Joseph, Mary, and the child Jesus sought asylum in Egypt. There was a large Jewish population in Egypt, especially in Alexandria, so it was natural that they go there. They left in haste after the angel's warning and probably took few possessions with them in order to be able to travel quickly and avoid Herod's troops. There are no details of this sojourn in Egypt, and Matthew is the only Gospel that records it. Apparently, the stay in Egypt was short, perhaps no more than two years. An angel informed the family that Herod had died [2:19-21; 4BC]. They first had wanted to go to their ancestral town, Bethlehem, but Herod's son Archelaus was reigning now over Judea. His reputation for cruelty was reminiscent of his father's [2:22], so Joseph took the family northward and returned once more to Nazareth in Galilee. 

The joy of the nativity scene and the wonder of the visit of the magi are overshadowed by the unhappy account of the senseless death of innocent children and the flight of refugees. The migration of this family locates the Jesus story within a movement that spans history, of people desiring a better life or escaping the threat of death.*

The Migrant Train.
Apizaco, Tlaxcala, Mexico. Photo Cred: John Doering-White

While we tend to view Christ's birth as a beautiful, tranquil event, this story reminds us that the setting around Christ's birth was anything but calm. Not long after his birth, the holy family fled for safety. Rev. Lindsay Mack shares that in a number of ways Jesus' birth was the peaceful "eye of the storm" in the midst of a hurricane of political chaos, corruption, oppression and violence. In a number of ways, this setting was not so different than today's Syria or Central America where corrupt politics, religious extremists, gangs and oppressive economic systems thrive. Two thousand years later, people are fleeing violence just as the Christ child did. So, as you read the headlines about Syrian refugees or hear stories about Central American immigrants, remember that the baby Jesus could be among those seeking refuge.


*M. Daniel Carrol R., Christians at the Border, p.115-116.