--- title: "Holy Innocents 2026: when and where it's a public holiday — festivos.io" description: "Holy Innocents is a local holiday in 6 municipalities, accounting for 11,337 residents in the 2025 register. In 2026 it falls on 28 December." source: "https://festivos.io/en/holiday/santos-inocentes" --- # Holy Innocents On 28 December the Church remembers the Holy Innocents — the children of Bethlehem in Matthew’s account. In Spain and Spanish America the same date is also the day of inocentadas: pranks, spoof news and the cry “¡Inocente, inocente!” - **Level:** Local holiday - **Date 2026:** Monday 28 December - **Municipalities:** 6 - **Residents · 2025 register:** 11,337 - **Where most:** Andalucía (2) ## Holy Innocents in the working calendar In 2026, the dataset records Holy Innocents as a local holiday in 6 municipalities, accounting for 11,337 residents in the 2025 register. The most common date is 28 December 2026. This comparison uses only the official working calendars incorporated into the dataset for each year. ## Demographics of the covered population Age, citizenship, birthplace and average-age structure from the 2025 Annual Population Census. | Demographic profile | % | | --- | --- | | Women / men | 49.8% / 50.2% | | Aged 0–14 | 14% | | Aged 15–64 | 66.5% | | Aged 65+ | 19.4% | | Foreign citizenship | 13% | | Born outside Spain | 17% | | Weighted mean age | 43.6 years | ### How it differs from its surroundings Comparison with Spain and with the aggregate of the 4 regions where it is observed. All five comparisons are population-weighted and use only the 2025 Annual Census. A positive sign means the covered population has a higher value than the benchmark. | Demographic profile | Covered population | Compared with Spain | Compared with its 4 regions | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Aged 0–14 | 14% | +1.1 pp | +0.8 pp | | Aged 65+ | 19.4% | -1.3 pp | -0.7 pp | | Foreign citizenship | 13% | -1.1 pp | +0.4 pp | | Born outside Spain | 17% | -2.2 pp | -0.6 pp | | Weighted mean age | 43.6 years | -0.9 years | -0.5 years | The largest difference from Spain is in “Born outside Spain”: -2.2 pp. Sex comes from the 2025 municipal register; all other metrics come from the 2025 Annual Census. Each percentage uses the total from its own statistical operation. [INE municipal tables 68535 and 68541](). ## What is Holy Innocents According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod ordered the killing of Bethlehem’s children under two to eliminate the newborn Messiah. The Latin liturgy commemorates them on 28 December, within the Christmas octave, as the first martyrs. The origin is sombre; today’s popular tone is different. Inocentadas — pinning a paper cut-out to someone’s back, borrowing money that will not be repaid, publishing humorous hoaxes in the press — echo the old end-of-December Feasts of Fools and role reversals. The classic punchline is “¡Inocente, inocente!” In Catalonia the paper-figure prank is called a llufa. As a local labour holiday in 2026 it falls on 28 December in municipalities such as Orusco de Tajuña, Quijorna, Puebla de Don Fadrique, Juarros de Voltoya and Arguedas. Elsewhere in Spain the date is lived mainly as a cultural tradition, not as a general day off. _Holy Innocents, the first martyrs in Christian tradition._ ## Dates of Holy Innocents In 2026 it falls on Monday 28 December in most municipalities. | Year | Main date | Municipalities | | --- | --- | --- | | 2025 | Monday, 29 December | 1 | | 2026 | Monday, 28 December | 6 | ## Official sources Official documents linked by the 2026 records. Dates can vary by territory; each municipality page preserves its specific source. Population: official municipal-register figures at 1 January 2025. [INE](). [INE municipal tables 68535 and 68541](). - [Comunidad de Madrid — Festivos locales (datos abiertos)]() - [Gobierno de Navarra — Fiestas locales (datos abiertos)]() - [Junta de Andalucía — Calendario de fiestas locales (datos abiertos)]() - [Junta de Castilla y León — Fiestas locales (datos abiertos)]() ## 6 municipalities celebrate Holy Innocents Its local holiday in 2026, by region. Each municipality links to its annual record and the available official source. Together, they account for 11,337 residents in the INE municipal register at 1 January 2025. **Andalucía** (2): Fuente Carreteros, Puebla de Don Fadrique **Comunidad de Madrid** (2): Orusco de Tajuña, Quijorna **Castilla y León** (1): Juarros de Voltoya **Comunidad Foral de Navarra** (1): Arguedas ## About Holy Innocents ### When is Holy Innocents in 2026? In 2026, Holy Innocents is mainly celebrated on 28 December 2026 (Monday). Some municipalities move it to another date on the working calendar. ### In how many municipalities is Holy Innocents a holiday? It's a local holiday in 6 municipalities in 2026, accounting for 11,337 residents in the 2025 register; mostly in Andalucía (2 municipalities). ### Is Holy Innocents a national holiday? No. Holy Innocents is a local-level holiday: it's only a non-working day in the municipalities that set it as their local festival; each keeps its official source. ## Other holidays - Saint Isidore the Laborer (1052 municipalities) - San Roque (340 municipalities) - San Sebastián (260 municipalities) - San Blas (259 municipalities) - San Pedro (251 municipalities) - San Bartolomé (243 municipalities) - San Miguel (236 municipalities) - Exaltación de la Santa Cruz (209 municipalities) Per-municipality data with its official source (regional gazette). Every date is verifiable on the municipality page. Data from festivos.io — CC BY 4.0. --- Data: festivos.io — CC BY 4.0. Official source: State Official Gazette (BOE) and regional gazettes (Law 37/2007).