Catalan Christmas Tradition

Hi ya! Glad you could click by today. Are you feeling a little pooped today? Hope I didn't catch you with your pants down, did I? Butt if I did, it's right in keeping with today's topic! Fill your mug and snaggle a virtual megamuffin and let's get down to business! For the fourth year in a row, I bring you the Catalan Christmas tradition of 'Catagner' pooping statues.

In Barcelona at Christmastime, you can find plenty of Nativity scenes, with shepherds, magi, baby Jesus, and the like. But you can also find one uniquely Catalan character hidden in the background—or squatting, with his pants down, the caganer, or "the defecator" (though our sources tell us the term is a little more crass than that). 

"It's typical of Catalonia. Each house buys one for Christmas," explains one man with a smile and a shrug as he shops. "I don't know why we do it, it's just a tradition." 

The caganer has been a part of Catalan Christmases for at least two centuries, and is a symbol of fertility and good fortune. 

"There was the legend that if a countryside man did not put a caganer in the nativity scene, he would have a very bad year collecting vegetables," explains a caganer connoisseur. 

Though he's typically a peasant, these days the caganer can take on the form of celebrities, politicians, and athletes, with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II a firm favorite. 

Here's a new one of Jacko! 

This year they have brought out Pope Francis, Kate and many other new statues. Collectors love them. There is even an 18' Giant catagner in a Barcelona mall:

So on that note, I think I will just say...See ya, eh!

Bob