It has been a little while since we have posted anything to the blog, and we have been meaning to add a post about the Christmas holiday traditions in Catalunya since, well, Christmas... So what better day to do so than Easter?
First, the bigger gift giving holiday is January 6, El Día de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings), where the three kings (or three wise men) Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar sail by ship to Barcelona (they actually do arrive by boat for the big parade...it is pretty cool), ride around the city and towns on camels and elephants, and climb in the windows to deliver presents.
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| The Three Kings climbing in a window to deliver some presents. |
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| Santa also comes to town. |
In addition to the Kings visiting, there is also Tío, a cute wooden log that is covered in a plaid blanket. Each house has their own, but kids can also visit Tío in the plaza by the old cathedral. Tío is a magical log that poops (yes, poops) presents as children beat him with sticks. When Tío is done pooping out presents, he signifies that he is done by pooping out a lump of coal.
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| Tío surrounded by sticks that the children will use to beat him. |
Our personal favorite Catalan tradition is the "caganer" which literally means, "the pooper" (for lack of a better G-rated word). He is a nativity piece that is a figure of a lowly shepherd taking care of business, placed in every nativity scene. He symbolizes that everyone, even him, worships Jesus. He also is a symbol of fertility (as he is fertilizing the ground) and luck for the new year. Make sure to check out the "must see" video below of a caganer that we saw at the Christmas market. If you are interested in your own caganer you can find many variaties, including famous people,
here.
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| A life-sized caganer in a nativity scene in Barcelona. |
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| Mini caganer. |
But, then again, the traditions of lawn decorating in the US are also a little "different."
