Which Christian feast is the prank day observed on 28 December in Spain and Hispanic America?

The Christian feast observed as a prank day on 28 December in Spain and Hispanic America is the Day of the Holy Innocents. In Spanish it is called Día de los Santos Inocentes, and practical jokes played on that date are often called inocentadas.

The feast commemorates the children of Bethlehem whom Herod, according to the Gospel of Matthew, ordered killed in an attempt to eliminate the infant Jesus. In Western Christianity, the observance falls within the Christmas season. The prank tradition is a later popular custom, not the religious meaning of the feast itself.

On December 28, newspapers and broadcasters in Spanish-speaking countries may publish fake stories, while families and friends play smaller tricks. After a successful prank, someone may call the victim “inocente,” meaning innocent or gullible. Regional customs vary: Colombia has its own formulas and media traditions, while Spain's Ibi is known for the flour-and-egg battle of Els Enfarinats.

The date should not be confused with April 1. Both are prank days, but the Spanish and Hispanic-American observance is tied by name and history to a Christian commemoration.