Oh, Baby! Jumpers Ward Off Devil

Men dressed as demons soar over infants in festival

By Matt Cantor

Posted May 26, 2008 11:03 AM CDT

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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.

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