April Fool vs Innocent´s Day

In Spain, contrary to what happens in many other places around the world…just to be a bit different, we do not celebrate April’s Fool on the 1st of April, our equivalent is the 28th of December, the Innocent Saints Day (Fiesta de los Santos Inocentes), a festivity that remembers the children killed by King Herod when he order the slaughter of all male infants in Judea trying to kill Jesus when he was still a baby as he had heard a prophecy stating that a new King was born (Joseph, Mary and Jesus had fled to Egypt and were able to escape from the massacre)
April’s Fool Day is really a French tradition that apparently started in 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar from the Julian version to the Gregorian version. Under the Julian calendar, the New Year used to start on the 25th of March and lasted for a week of festivities. The French decided to move New Year’s Day (not a week) to the 1st of January. Many people did not believe that those changes were made and they were called “fools”. The French called it “Le poisson d’avril” as a typical prank is to tape a picture of a fish (poisson) on the back of a victim. Everybody will cry “poisson d’avril” when the victim discovers the prank.
In the UK, it took a bit longer to adopt this custom, but then it spread throughout many other countries.
As I said, in Spain the equivalent happens on the 28th of December and the victim of a prank or hoax is called “inocente”. Even the Spanish TV and Radio make crazy announcements such as a UFO landing on the Royal Palace or a minister running away with the wife of an opposition member…. the sky is the limit. These pranks are called “inocentadas”