This feast is very ancient, although not all Churches celebrate it on the same day. The Roman liturgy calls them Innocentes; in Africa, Spain, and Gaul they preferred to simply call them infantes. Saint Ambrose used the word bimuli, meaning “two-year-olds.” Other terms like pueri or parvuli (children, little ones) do not carry quite the same tenderness.
The old preachers were not shy about trying to specify the number of these unconscious victors (and somehow the number 4 keeps showing up): 14,000, 64,000, 144,000. That last number was inspired by Revelation 14:1, which used to be read as the first reading of the Mass. In reality, it was probably about twenty or thirty children that Herod ordered to be killed.
The liturgical reform of 1960 highlighted the joyful side of the feast, even though it naturally also carries sorrow. Pope Saint Pius V had raised its rank to a higher category. Through the centuries, a rich popular folklore has developed around this day. In the Eastern Churches, the Holy Innocents are remembered the following day.
