There's An Insane Spanish Festival Where People Dress As The Devil And Jump Over A Bunch Of Babies

Probably less safe than baptising them, on balance.

Here's a man dressed as El Colacho (The Devil).

Getty / Denis Doyle

Here he is trying to whip a youth.

Getty / Denis Doyle

This is all part of a Spanish holiday that takes place to celebrate the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi in the village of Castrillo de Murcia.

Here are some babies having some confetti dropped on them.

Getty / Denis Doyle

The festival, held on the first Sunday after Corpus Cristi, is a catholic rite of the devil cleansing babies of original sin.

And here's a man dressed as the devil jumping over the babies.

Getty / Denis Doyle

The act is known as El Salto del Colacho (the devil's jump) or simply El Colacho.

This is how the week-long festival culminates.

Denis Doyle / Getty

The origins of the tradition are unknown but it's said to cleanse the babies of original sin.

Denis Doyle / Getty

Pope Benedict XVI apparently asked Spanish priests to distance themselves from the festival.

Denis Doyle / Getty

Hard to imagine why that would be.