Oh, Baby! Jumpers Ward Off Devil

Men dressed as demons soar over infants in festival
Posted May 26, 2008 11:03 AM CDT
Oh, Baby! Jumpers Ward Off Devil
A man representing the devil and dressed in a traditional red and yellow costume, known as El Colacho, jumps over babies placed on a mattress in Castrillo de Murcia, Spain, Sunday.   (AP Photo/Israel L.Murillo)

Men dressed as demons leapt over rows of placid babies in a Spanish village yesterday in a rite intended to protect them from evil spirits. During a festival marking the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi, infants lie on mattresses as long-jumpers in red-and-yellow costumes fly over them. No one was hurt in the annual event, the BBC reports. The village of Castrillo de Murcia has staged the ritual since 1620. (More festival stories.)

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