Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Catalonian Christmas Traditions

Episode Date: December 21, 2020

Catalonia is a unique region. They have their own Romance language, their own customs, and cuisine, and when it comes to the Christmas season, they have their own traditions. In fact, when it comes to the Christmas season, they have some very very unique traditions. I’d dare say that their Christmas traditions are firmly ranked #2. Learn more about the Christman traditions of Catalonia on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catalonia is a unique region. They have their own romance language, their own customs and cuisine, and when it comes to the Christmas season, they have their own traditions. In fact, when it comes to the Christmas season, they have some very, very unique traditions. I dare say that their Christmas traditions are firmly ranked number two. Learn more about the Christmas traditions of Catalonia on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by the tourist office of Spain. If you've never been to Spain, you're probably familiar with it, even if you don't know. know it. That's because Spain is used as a filming location for many of the most popular

movies and television shows. Much of Game of Thrones was filmed in Spain. Parts of King's Landing was shot in Gerona, just meters away from where I live for several months. Most spaghetti westerns from the 1960s were filmed on location in Spain. Lawrence of Arabia, Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade, Dr. Javago, Star Wars Episode 2, Mission Impossible, and the Born Identity, and many, many other movies have all been shot on location in Spain. You can start research searching your dream trip to Spain today by visiting Spain. Info, where you can get everything you need to know to plan your Spanish adventure. A Christmas nativity scene is a representation in small statues of the birth of Jesus. Most household nativity scenes are just a few statues. You'll

have statues of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and maybe a few animals. Some will even have the three wise men, and others will include shepherds and angels. The first nativity scene dates back to St. Francis of Assisi in 1223, and he used live actors in instead of statues. The idea of reenacting the birth of Christ was approved by the Pope, and soon such scenes started to appear in churches and cities all around Europe. There's still a fixture of many towns today. In Catalonia, they too have adopted the tradition of nativity scenes, as with much of Europe, the tradition dates back centuries. However, there's one thing about the nativity scenes in Catalonia, which are different than the nativity scenes anywhere else in the world. In addition to all

the characters I just mentioned, they will have an extra person tucked in the back in the far corner of the scene. That person is a shepherd, and in Catalan, he is known as El Cagané. El Cogonet roughly translates to The Pooper. Yes, every Nativity scene in Catalonia has a statue of a man squatting down and pooping. He's doing his business, and most of the statues also show the results of his efforts below him. Why in the world is this in a nativity scene? Nowhere in the Bible is there a mention of a man going number two during the birth of Jesus. The truth is, no one is really sure how the tradition started. There's evidence dating back to at least the 17th or 18th centuries of the Caganet,

but beyond that, we really don't know. Catalonia isn't the only place in Europe with this tradition, but here it is by far the most famous and prevalent. Some people believe that the statue is for good luck. The Cogne represents fertilizing the fields, and if you don't have the statue, you will not have a good crop there. next year. Another theory is that the Caganet represents mischief, and the Cagané represents humanity. After all, what is more human? In 2005, there was a public outcry when Barcelona

commissioned a Nativity's team that did not have a Cagané. A group was formed called Save the Cogne and next year, the Cogne was returned. Regardless of how the tradition started, it's now one of the most popular symbols of Catalonia. There are stores in Catalonia which specialize just in Caganay figures. There are hundreds of different Caganets available now with subjects including presidents, popes, royalty, athletes, and celebrities. If you want to get a statue of Lionel Messi or the Queen Elizabeth Pooping, head over to Catalonia. There's even an organization dedicated to Caganet collectors called The Friends of the Cogonet.

They have over 70 members from around the world, and some of the collectors have over 600 statues in their collection. But the Cogonet is not the only Christmas tradition in Catalonia. In fact, it isn't even the only Christmas. Christmas tradition that involves poop. The other Catalan custom is the Tio de Nidal, or the Cagatio, which roughly translates into poop log. The Cogatio is a hollowed out log.

A face is usually painted on one end, and it will usually have two sticks sticking out of the bottom to hold it up. Starting on December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, children were leave food for the Cagatio every night before they go to bed and put a blanket over him to keep him warm. They do this every evening and then on Christmas Day, children will beat the Cagatio with sticks while singing the Cogatio song so the log will poop out presents. Traditionally, the logs would defecate nuts and candy, but nowadays it might be actual gifts. Three Kings Day is actually the big holiday for gift giving, so what's given out at Christmas is usually smaller. I'd now like to read the English translation of the lyrics of the Cagatio song, which is sung by children as they traditionally beat the poop loo.

on Christmas Day. Poop log, poop nougats, hazelnuts and motto cheese. If you don't poop well, I'll hit you with a stick, poop log. Poop log of Christmas, don't poop herrings, which are too salty. Poop nuggets, which are much better. Nora Jones has actually recorded a version of the song, I kid you not. The reference to nugut, known as Turan in Catalan, is traditionally made from egg white, honey or sugar, and almonds.

and it might have been brought to the region by the Moors. It's been associated with the winter and Christmas seasons for ages. As with the Caganay, the origins of the Cagatillo are shrouded in mystery. There's really nothing explicitly Christian about it, and many people think that the tradition dates back to pagan times. Back when everyone had a fireplace, the final step in the tradition was usually burning the log after it had been beaten and defecated all its presence.

But nowadays, they'll just keep it for the next year. Why does the log have to poop? No one knows. It's just something that they do at this point. For whatever reason, Catalonia has become known for not one, but two Christmas traditions that involve pooping. These traditions have become so well known and popular that you can now find Caganese and Cogatios and gift shops in Catalonia all year round. Executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is James McAlla. The associate producer is Thor Thompson. Remember to leave a five-star review to get your review read on the show.

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