I have wondered if this was sort of an April Fools’ Day that arose from some peasants or someone else impersonating the priest from the day before, that being Easter. The priest likely walked through an aisle of the church spraying the holy water from the little scepter/baton thing that casts the water in drops. As masses were performed in Latin, Smigus Dyngus ( pronounced SHMEE-goose DING-oose) would have been a parody of Latin. My experience of Smigus Dyngus was that the point was to catch people unawares, and spritz them or soak them or something in between. Obviously the most polite was to dip your fingers in a glass and spritz with your fingers. It just si happens that this year Smigus Dyngus falls exactly on April Fool’s Day.
I have wondered if this was sort of an April Fools’ Day that arose from some peasants or someone else impersonating the priest from the day before, that being Easter. The priest likely walked through an aisle of the church spraying the holy water from the little scepter/baton thing that casts the water in drops. As masses were performed in Latin, Smigus Dyngus ( pronounced SHMEE-goose DING-oose) would have been a parody of Latin. My experience of Smigus Dyngus was that the point was to catch people unawares, and spritz them or soak them or something in between. Obviously the most polite was to dip your fingers in a glass and spritz with your fingers. It just si happens that this year Smigus Dyngus falls exactly on April Fool’s Day.