Innocents' Day
- noun
- /ˈɪnəsənts deɪ/
:
Día de los Santos Inocentes
- Many churches hold special services on Innocents' Day to remember the children of Bethlehem.
Examples
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The story behind Innocents' Day comes from the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.
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Many churches hold special services on Innocents' Day.
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In some countries, Innocents' Day is marked by traditions similar to April Fools' Day.
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On Innocents' Day, we remember the tragic events in Bethlehem.
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On December 28, many people commemorate Innocents' Day by attending church services.
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Innocents' Day remembers the tragic fate of the children of Bethlehem as told in the Bible.
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Families often discuss the significance of Innocents' Day during holiday gatherings.
Synonyms
A Christian day on December 28 that remembers the children King Herod killed in Bethlehem
Surface Forms
Morphology
Innocents' + day
The compound is built from 'innocents' (possessive of 'innocent') + 'day', so a B1 learner who knows those words can infer it is a day concerning innocent people or an observance. However, the specific historical/biblical meaning (the massacre of the Bethlehem children and the fixed date) is not deducible from the parts and requires cultural or religious knowledge, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Innocents' Day comes from a Bible story in which King Herod had the baby boys of Bethlehem killed, so the Innocents' were the children who died. People began to mark the day to 'remember' those children, and in some countries the day is also kept with harmless pranks, like a winter version of April Fools' Day.
