Catalan Christmas Tradition

Christmas in Barcelona is really something quite magical. On December 8th streets and buildings everywhere go through a transformation. Christmas lights are everywhere and very large Christmas trees are placed inside the malls, airports, and etc. Truly, I have never seen so many lights - and they all come to life on the 8th, not a day before or after. Most importantly, the elaborate nativity scenes, which take several days to construct, are unveiled on this day. The intricate Nativity scenes displayed around the city are not to be missed!

The Nativity is one of the most important features of the Christmas traditions. The nativity not only includes the manger scene, but the entire village of Bethlehem. Great pains have been taken to make the display as authentic as possible. The nativities are truly works of art. It is obvious the care and love that has been poured into every minute detail. Villagers of Bethlehem are all in various stages of travel, on their way to see the baby Jesus. The three wise men (known here as Los Tres Reyes - "The Three Kings") are carefully placed and moved each day as a kind of Advent calendar. As each day passes, the kings are moved closer to the manager and finally arrive on January 5. I absolutely love this tradition. I have decided to adopt this as one as my own. What a great way to remind us of the reason for the season!

Outside Barcelona Town Hall, the Nativity takes center stage on the cobblestones. Mary, Joseph and the shepherds are all gathered around the baby Jesus in his manger, as speakers send out the occasional moo or baah. But this is Catalonia, and no nativity is complete without one additional figure. He is known in Catalan as the caganer. This translates most politely as 'little pooper.'

A caganer  is a small figurine (well except in the case of the one below) of a person squatting down with his pants around his knees to answer nature's call. They have been around since the 17th century. The original caganer is a wooden or clay figure of a peasant wearing the traditional floppy red Catalan cap with a black band (barretina). The following pictures are thanks to Kat Morrell for the inspiration tip!

The caganer is a symbol of fertility and good fortune. There is this legend that if you did not put a caganer in the nativity, you will have a bad harvest the following year. There is etiquette when placing the caganer into the nativity. The caganer is never in the front of the nativity scene. That would be a lack of respect. He's always hidden in a corner, under a bridge or behind a tree and the children have fun trying to find where the caganer has chosen to do his business.

But the caganer is not the only poo-related tradition here. The markets are piled high with Caga Tiós - the original yule log. Caga Tió translates to 'poop log'. Tió is Catalan for log and not to be mistaken for uncle in Spanish. The caga tió is literally a log with a face painted on it and a 3D nose. He is wearing the traditional barretina. Caga Tió appears on December 8th (Feast of The Immaculate Conception). Children then care for the caga tió as if he were a pet. He is covered with a banket to keep him warm and every night fed turron (nougat like candy). This is to ensure that he is nice and full so that he will poo out lots of treats on Christmas Eve! On Christmas Eve children get a stick and beat the caga tió and sing the following song until he "poops" out candy.


Caga tió, caga torró, avellanes i mató, si no cagues bé et daré un cop de bastó. caga tió!
(poop log, poop torrons, hazelnuts and cottage cheese, if you don't poop well, I'll hit you with a stick, poop log!)

The gifts pooped from the caga tió are communal and to be shared by all. Once caga tió has sufficiently supplied all with candy, he is ceremoniously tossed into the fire and burned like any good piece of fire wood should be.

Those of you whom are South Park fans, will recognize Caga Tió as the lovable Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo. For those of you not familiar with Mr. Hankey, I guess you will just have to take my word for it.

Lots of small markets can be found throughout Barcelona at Christmas time. However, by far the largest and most popular is the Fira de Santa Llúcia, located outside Barcelona Cathedral in Plaza de la Seu. With lots of gift ideas in a stunning setting, it is the perfect place to make you feel thoroughly festive.The Fira de Santa Llúcia runs from December 8 until Christmas Eve.  Here you will find all sorts of hand made gifts, intricate nativity scene figurines and the Caga Tió log (something you'll struggle to find anywhere else!).

December 8th - This is the holiday of Immaculada (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) which marks the beginning of the Christmas celebrations.

24th December - Christmas Eve is called Nochebuena in Spanish (Goodnight). Christmas Eve is a very important day for Spanish people. This is when they enjoy one of the most lavish meals of the Christmas period. In general the dinner begins with a soup, known as the Carn d’Olla. This is made with a large piece of meat that is cooked in stock for hours to ensure that it is thick and rich for a soup. The meat is then removed from the soup and Galets are added. These are large pieces of pasta that look like snail shells.
The meat that the soup was cooked with is then eaten as part of the main course. Most Spanish households eat this alongside various tapas dishes. These often include langoustines, jamón and eels- some of the most expensive foods. Since I am uneducated in the making of this soup, we had beef stew with the galets added. It was a huge hit with the kids and they would like to have it every day. After dinner they go out and meet their friends. They visit other families to wish them a Merry Christmas, often bringing gifts such as legs of jamón (Cured Ham). These things are outrageously expensive! During this period everybody drinks lots of Cava (Spanish equivalent of Champagne). We have no friends or family here in Barcelona so we decided to forgo the going out part. Lots of families make special instruments- the Zambomba (like a drum), Pandereta (tambourine) and Botella de Anis (a specific cut glass bottle to slide a stick up and down). These instruments are played while everybody sings Christmas carols (Billancicos) and get tipsy! Children often take their instruments and go from door to door, singing carols and receiving money or candy. We do have the proper glass bottle for the Botella de Anis but it is still in use holding the anis. We will make an instrument out of it once all the alcohol is gone.
25th December - Christmas Day is not a day of great celebration but rather a calm day when people go out for a walk, drop into a bar, etc. Gifts are not exchanged on this day. We opened all the gifts from Abeula and Poppa on Christmas day. Afterward we went for a walk on the beach.
28th December - This is the day of Santos Inocentes (Holy Innocents) and is the equivalent of April Fools' Day when people play practical jokes on one another.
31st December - New Year's Eve is known as NocheVieja (Old Night). It is a big celebration with street parties and celebrations in hotels and clubs everywhere.  On the stroke of midnight it is traditional to eat 12 grapes, one on each dong of the clock to bring good luck for the new year. For each grape you get down, you will have a month of good luck in the coming year.
1st January - A quiet holiday with people sleeping off their excesses or enjoying walks in the neighborhood with their family.
5th January - There are parades on this day where candy is thrown from floats to all the people who come out to watch. In Barcelona the procession starts shortly after five o'clock at Portal de la Pau and finishes around nine at Montjuïc. On this night, children leave a shoe in the window for the Three Kings to fill with candy (stockings are not needed in this Mediterranean climate!) I took the kids down to Port Vell to see the arrival of the Three Kings. In Barcelona they arrive by a 3-mast tall ship...very impressive. There was lots of entertainment at the port and the kids enjoyed all the craziness.
6th January - This is the Feast of the Epiphany when the Three Kings arrived in Bethlehem. For Spanish children this is the day when they wake up to find that Los Tres Reyes have left gifts for them. The Three Kings can be seen giving out gifts to the children in hospitals on this day as well.
7th January - The day after receiving their gifts children return to school, their parents go back to work and all the lights come down. Christmas in Spain is over until next year.