'Devil' jumps over babies to 'cleanse them of evil spirits' in religious Spanish festival

The event is called 'El Colacho' in Spain - the baby jumping festival.

Parents allow their children to take part in this celebration of good triumphing over evil.

According to Daily Mail, Men representing the devil, called El Colacho, jump over the one-year-olds in the village of Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos in northern Spain, in an annual festival dating back to 1621.

The babies are laid out on soft mattresses, oblivious to the commotion around them.

The Colacho takes away the evil from the babies as he jumps over them in the medieval religious custom that takes place to celebrate the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi.

Reports say the event recalls the fight between good and evil and is believed to put the babies on a path to a good life. In addition, sin is believed to be driven from the whole town in the process.

According to the tradition, parents put their babies on a mattress at the central square of the small village. Then men dress in a bright yellow and red costume and limber up.

They take a running start and jump over the children, while a grim man dressed in black marches around beating a drum. It is the culmination of a four-day celebration after the Corpus Christi feast.

Over the centuries there have been no reports of injuries among the babies, but the festival is still considered to be one of the riskiest in the world.

The previous pope, Benedict XVI, had asked Spanish priests to distance themselves from the event.

The exact origins of the ritual are unclear, but Spanish Catholics celebrate the festival throughout the country with colourful processions of dancers dressed as demons and angels.

Castrillo de Murcia has a population of only 500 but is well-known in Spain thanks to the festival.