The Feast of the Holy Innocents

Also known as Childermas in Western countries and Niños Inocentes in our country, the Feast of the Holy Innocents is celebrated every December 28th to honor the memory of the innocent children killed because of Herod’s fear about the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As narrated in the Holy Bible, Magi from the East visited Herod shortly after Jesus was born, to ask the whereabouts of and pay homage to "the one having been born King of the Jews". Herod, who himself is King of Judea, got alarmed at the prospect of the "new born king" taking over his rule. Herod is advised by his chief priests and scribes of the people that the Prophet had written that the Anointed one is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea. Herod sends the Magi to Bethlehem with orders to search for the child, and that, when they find him, they should report to Herod so that he too may go and worship him. However, after finding Jesus, the Magi are warned in a dream not to report back to Herod. Similarly, Joseph is also warned in a dream that Herod intends to kill Jesus. Joseph and his family flee to Egypt to escape Herod. In the meantime, the Magi took a different route on their return home to the East to avoid stopping by Herod’s palace. When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the Magi whom he sent to look for the infant Jesus, he ordered the massacre of all boys, two years old and below, in Bethlehem and its vicinity.

According to Greek liturgy, about 14,000 boys were killed. The Syrians said about 64,000 boys were slaughtered while many medieval authors said as many as 144,000 were massacred. Since the sixth century, the Church has venerated the memory of these children killed because they gave testimony to the Messiah "not by words but by their blood." Liturgical tradition refers to them as the "Holy Innocents" and regards them as martyrs. Throughout the centuries, Christian art, poetry and popular piety have venerated the memory of these "tender flock of lambs" with tenderness and sympathy. These sentiments are expressed along with a message of indignation against the violence with which they were taken from their mothers’ arms and killed.

In our present times, children in different countries endure numerous forms of violence and abuse which threaten their very lives and dignity. Child labor, for example, is very rampant in many countries. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has estimated that 250 million children between the ages of five and 14 work in developing countries – at least 120 million on a full time basis. Sixty-one percent of these are in Asia, 32 percent in Africa, and 7 percent in Latin America. Here in the Philippines, child labor is considered a serious problem. Children are forced or pressured to work because of extreme poverty, interfering with their education and exposing them to health risks. Our garment industry commonly use child labor in their sweatshops in the manufacture of products exported to other countries. Children are also reportedly used in wood and rattan furniture making and gold mining. Child labor is also utilized in other industries like food manufacturing, fireworks/pyrotechnics, footwear, plastic bags and even in "muro-ami" fishing. This list doesn’t even include the children engaged in the commercial sex trade and those that you see everyday in the streets begging.

In the West, "Childermas" is celebrated traditionally by allowing the youngest child in the family to decide what to do during the day. Some food with color of red is served to remember the blood that was shed by these little babies. In our country, The Feast of the Holy Innocents is observed by some like April Fool’s Day. Pranksters play tricks on the gullible – the "innocents." As we await its coming, let us remember and honor not just those innocent children in the past who were forcibly taken from their mothers’ arms and killed, but also the children of today who are separated from their families and forced to risk their lives just to earn a few measly pesos for their families.