On the 4th Day of Christmas, The Feast of the Holy Innocents
Today is the 4th Day of Christmas on which is celebrated the Feast of the Holy Innocents
The story of the massacre of the innocents is told in the Gospels at Matthew 2:16-18. Herod the Great, installed by the Romans as the Governor of Galilee, had a reputation for ruthlessness and cruelty. He was known for killing anyone, including his wives and sons, whom he believed threatened his hold on power.
After the birth of Jesus, the Magi came to Jerusalem, asking where the newly born King of the Jews might be found. When Herod heard about this, he asked the Magi, should they find the infant, to tell him so that he too might pay a visit to honor the child. The Church celebrates the day that the Magi found Jesus as the Epiphany. But the Magi, warned in a dream about Herod’s heart, did not return to Herod.
After the Epiphany, an angel visited Joseph in a dream and warned him that Herod was dangerous. Joseph gathered Jesus and Mary and the three escaped into Egpyt. Meanwhile, Herod, enraged at the Wise Men’s “betrayal,” had all of the infant boys in Bethlehem slaughtered.
The fourth day of Christmas commemorates these baby boys. These Holy Innocents are considered martyrs who died not only for Christ, but in His place.
The Coventry Carol is a particularly poignant song written as a lullaby being sung by a Bethlehem mother to her doomed infant son. It was written in the 14th or 15th century and sung in the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, a nativity play repeated annually in Coventry, England.
