Feast of the Holy Innocents

E65001

Christian feast liturgical celebration religious commemoration

The Feast of the Holy Innocents is a Christian liturgical celebration commemorating the infant boys killed by King Herod in Bethlehem, observed within the Christmas season.

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All labels observed (10)

Label	Occurrences
Feast of the Holy Innocents canonical	7
Día de los Santos Inocentes	1
Feast of Saint Stephen	1
Feast of the Holy Innocent Martyrs	1
Fest der Unschuldigen Kinder (englisch: Holy Innocents)	1
Festum Sanctorum Innocentium Martyrum	1
Holy Innocents' Day	1
Holy Innocents’ Day	1
Saints Innocents	1
“Fête des Saints Innocents” (French)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T518471 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Feast of the Holy Innocents
Context triple: [Christmastide, hasMajorFeast, Feast of the Holy Innocents]

A. Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple
The Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple is a major Christian celebration commemorating the infant Jesus being brought to the Jerusalem Temple, where he was recognized as the Messiah by Simeon and Anna.
B. Feast of the Holy Family
The Feast of the Holy Family is a Christian liturgical celebration honoring Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as a model of family life within the Christmas season.
C. Nativity of Christ
The Nativity of Christ is the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus, commemorating God’s incarnation as a human being in Bethlehem.
D. Saint Nicholas Day
Saint Nicholas Day is a Christian feast day on December 6 (in most Western countries) honoring Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, and is celebrated with gift-giving and various folk traditions that influenced the modern figure of Santa Claus.
E. Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a major Christian liturgical celebration commemorating the discovery and veneration of the True Cross and honoring the saving power of Christ’s crucifixion.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Feast of the Holy Innocents
Target entity description: The Feast of the Holy Innocents is a Christian liturgical celebration commemorating the infant boys killed by King Herod in Bethlehem, observed within the Christmas season.

A. Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple
The Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple is a major Christian celebration commemorating the infant Jesus being brought to the Jerusalem Temple, where he was recognized as the Messiah by Simeon and Anna.
B. Feast of the Holy Family
The Feast of the Holy Family is a Christian liturgical celebration honoring Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as a model of family life within the Christmas season.
C. Nativity of Christ
The Nativity of Christ is the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus, commemorating God’s incarnation as a human being in Bethlehem.
D. Saint Nicholas Day
Saint Nicholas Day is a Christian feast day on December 6 (in most Western countries) honoring Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, and is celebrated with gift-giving and various folk traditions that influenced the modern figure of Santa Claus.
E. Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a major Christian liturgical celebration commemorating the discovery and veneration of the True Cross and honoring the saving power of Christ’s crucifixion.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Christian feast ⓘ liturgical celebration ⓘ religious commemoration ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Childermas ⓘ Holy Innocents’ Day ⓘ linked to: Feast of the Holy Innocents Innocents’ Day ⓘ linked to: Masses for the Dead
associatedWith	Bethlehem ⓘ King Herod the Great ⓘ linked to: Herod the Great flight into Egypt ⓘ linked to: Flight into Egypt
celebratedOn	27 December (some Eastern traditions) ⓘ 28 December ⓘ 29 December (some Eastern traditions) ⓘ
commemorates	Massacre of the Innocents ⓘ infant boys killed by King Herod in Bethlehem ⓘ
follows	Feast of Saint Stephen ⓘ linked to: Feast of the Holy Innocents
hasBiblicalBasisIn	Gospel of Matthew ⓘ
hasBiblicalPassage	Matthew 2:16–18 ⓘ
hasLiturgicalRank	Double of the Second Class (traditional Roman Rite) ⓘ Feast (Roman Rite, ordinary form) ⓘ
hasPatronageOver	children ⓘ unborn children ⓘ victims of violence ⓘ
hasTheme	innocent suffering ⓘ martyrdom ⓘ protection of children ⓘ
historicallyAssociatedWith	medieval boy bishop customs ⓘ medieval liturgical drama ⓘ
honors	children killed by King Herod ⓘ infant martyrs of Bethlehem ⓘ
involves	Liturgy of the Hours ⓘ Mass ⓘ scripture readings about the Innocents ⓘ special prayers for children ⓘ
languageVariant	“Festum Sanctorum Innocentium” (Latin) ⓘ “Fête des Saints Innocents” (French) ⓘ linked to: Feast of the Holy Innocents “Heilige Unschuldige Kinder” (German) ⓘ “Santos Inocentes” (Spanish) ⓘ
linkedTo	Christmas ⓘ Nativity of Jesus ⓘ linked to: Nativity of Christ
liturgicalColor	red ⓘ
observedBy	Anglican Communion ⓘ Eastern Orthodox Church ⓘ linked to: Eastern Orthodox Christianity Lutheran churches ⓘ linked to: Lutheranism Roman Catholic Church ⓘ linked to: Roman Catholicism other Protestant churches ⓘ
partOf	Christmas season ⓘ Christmastide ⓘ
precedes	Feast of Saint Thomas Becket ⓘ