Massacre of the Innocents (Matanza de los Inocentes)

7 BC

The Gospel of Matthew (2:16-18) recounts Herod the Great ordering the killing of male children under two in Bethlehem, traditionally dated c. 7-2 BC. Scholarly consensus rejects its historicity: it appears only in Matthew and is uncorroborated by Josephus. Matthew links it to Jeremiah 31:15, the verse that gave the feast its mourning character, the origin of the Hispanic prank day.