Catalulunyan Christmas

[briwy]

My daughter has brought this little fella back from Catalunya.
Called a Gaca Tio and it is a custom in Catalunya and Aragon.

He appears in the home before Christmas and has to be covered in a blanket to keep him warm.
On Christmas day he has to be beaten with sticks by the children and poohs out presents.

Rather surprisingly, our little chap had been on a diet of Quality Street. Hardly Spanish but very welcome.


Full story here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tió_de_Nadal

 

[estresao]

I had the magic chance of see how my nephews were enjoing getting candies from one of those. Really nice moments.

Only seen it in Catalonia, never somewhere else in Spain.

 

[benArrayx]

That's a 'Caga Tio', caga being the pooing bit The Catalans also have a guy called the Caganer who is part of their Christmas nativity scene - he sits behind a bush having a crap!!!

https://www.google.fr/search?q=caga...80&bih=752&usg=__ZYwsTbxQeSM6ZWnGnP8OVU6Wj-Y=

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caganer

They have some pretty funny traditions those Catalans!!

 

[estresao]

Actually the caganer "then man who's pooing" is Spain wide traeitional, but the Catalan name got more popular.

I grow up in the south of Extremadure, very close to Sevillez and I can still remember the Xmas nativity scene my father used to make, and among others, the guy pooing somewhere in the scene never missed.... was kind of mandatory character in it.

Another detail.... we used to set the nativity scene around mid Dec and usually the three magic kings started "very far" in the scene from the portal, and every day we moved them a little close. Usually on 5th midnigh, on the Epifany, the reached the portal. Epifany was the day when we used to give presents rather than Xmas because was wheb tge three kings gave presebts to Jesus.

 

[Tommy Gun]

[QUOTE="The Catalans also have a guy called the Caganer who is part of their Christmas nativity scene - he sits behind a bush having a crap!!!"[/QUOTE]

So that's where the 'yuletide log' idea came from...
Brilliant...

 

[benArrayx]

Actually the caganer "then man who's pooing" is Spain wide traeitional, but the Catalan name got more popular.

I grow up in the south of Extremadure, very close to Sevillez and I can still remember the Xmas nativity scene my father used to make, and among others, the guy pooing somewhere in the scene never missed.... was kind of mandatory character in it.

Yes sorry, it even says so in the Wikipedia article!!!

 

[benArrayx]

Estresao, I was in algodonales a couple of months ago for some paragliding, I image you'll know it being from near Seville. Can't wait to go back there once I get my van!