A Catalan Christmas Written by Dalene Heck
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
A CATALAN CHRISTMAS WRITTEN BY DALENE HECK 1 Written by Dalene Heck Dalene is the chief storyteller behind HeckticTravels.com - an award-winning travel blog that has taken her to over 50 countries around the globe from her home country of Canada. Her love a air with Costa Brava started in 2015 and keeps drawing her back, and she often refers to Girona as her “second home”. © 2018 Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona 2 HAVE YOURSELF A CRAPPY LITTLE CHRISTMAS Every December, as a North American The impossibility of the whole premise, upon child, I celebrated a fat man in a red suit refl ection, made me quite embarrassed fl ying across the world in a reindeer- to have believed it until that late age. I pulled sleigh. Eventually, he would shimmy imagine people in far fl ung corners of the his chubby body down a narrow chimney to globe hearing of Santa for the fi rst time and deliver presents. Because he supposedly wondering, “You believe WHAT?” It must all replicated this process millions of times seem so very strange. over in a twenty-four hour time span, Santa Claus’ journey defi es all concepts of time Catalan Christmas traditions have been and space. written about countless times, and often with the same judgment. To an outsider, they can Yet it seemed completely plausible and seem incredibly bizarre, yet given my own normal for me until roughly the age of twelve, absurd childhood beliefs, who am I to judge? when, in the few days up to the much-hyped Sure, there may be a lot more poop involved event, I stumbled upon a present my parents (yes, you read that right), but in general, had purchased but later passed o as one the customs are no stranger than the idea from that fat man named Santa. Like many of a fl ying reindeer named Rudolph leading kids that came before me and after, my Santa’s sleigh through the sky by the light of childhood unraveled. Honestly, I don’t know his magically-glowing nose. how any of us ever trusted our parents again. My only visits to Catalonia have been during the spring and summer, so I have not yet experienced a Catalan Christmas. But after reading several accounts of some o beat-sounding traditions, I couldn’t help but ask for clarifi cation from my local friends during my last visit. Each time they met my queries with laughter and full accounts of it all. While they acknowledged that their customs are somewhat exceptional, they clearly did so with pride, for each one is utterly and uniquely Catalan. 3 TIÓ DE NADAL It starts with a defecating piece of wood named Tió. Tió is an adorable little log propped up with legs so that it resembles a small, seated animal. He has a friendly face and wears a red and black hat similar to a barretina (a traditional hat worn by men living in rural areas). While it’s possible to buy decorated Tiós at many stores leading up to the Christmas season, they are also sometimes passed down through generations. For most of the month of December, children are required to care for Tió, bringing him treats and goodies to fatten him up. A blanket discretely covers Tió’s lower end until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, under which Mom and Dad will place the presents. Tió, by all accounts, is super cute as far as logs go. But this doesn’t stop anyone from beating him with a stick while singing a song that instructs him to poop presents. "Caga tió, “Shit, log, caga torró, shit nougats, avellanes i mató, hazelnuts and mató cheese, si no cagues bé if you don't shit well, et daré un cop de bastó. I'll hit you with a stick, caga tió!" shit, log!” After the singing and beating, someone lifts the blanket to reveal what is underneath. Often there is an array of presents, candies or nuts, as the song instructs, which are shared among those gathered for a Christmas celebration. 4 CAGANER Not all traditions are so di erent from what I grew up with. In early December my mother arranged her nativity scene characters with care beneath a wooden manger my father constructed. As children, we learned that the nativity scene was important for making us aware that the holiday season was about more than Santa Claus and the gifts he brought. It reminded us that Christmas had a much deeper meaning and purpose. Catalan homes during the Christmas season may also display a nativity scene, but on a larger scale. Instead of just the manger, it often depicts the entire city of Bethlehem. The central characters remain the same, with the exception of one additional fi gure not common in other parts of the world. Somewhere within the display, usually tucked in the corner, is a small peasant statue, also wearing a traditional barretina. He squats with his pants dropped around his ankles and his bare backside exposed. A small brown coil sits on the base of the fi gure. (Clearly, the pooping references don’t stop with Tió.) 5 The Catalan custom of placing a The options are considerable. I visited a shop caganer (pooping peasant fi gurine) called El Caganer in Torroella de Montgrí, to in the nativity scene is centuries old, meet the owner, Marc Alos Pla, and discuss dating back to the 18th, and it is placed his family’s business of making traditional in the nativity scene as a token of good caganers. The largest producer in Catalonia (and the only one to sell it in stores beyond luck and joy for the year ahead. Poop, his own storefront), Marc took over from his an essential element of natural fertilizer, mother, a ceramist, who had purchased the symbolizes the hope for prosperity. business 25 years prior. Every fi gurine is hand-painted in a small workshop above the Hundreds of years later, some aspects of store. He took me upstairs, put a paintbrush the tradition have evolved, but it is more in my hand, and told me about his business popular than ever. Children love it because while I decorated my very own fi sherman. often it becomes a game for them to fi nd the caganer in the scene and then re-hide it for others. Adults love it because it has expanded beyond a traditional peasant. They can make a political statement by choosing a government leader, or state their allegiance to a particular sports team by purchasing a caganer replica of their favorite player. Some might even proclaim their love for Star Wars by placing an R2D2 character that poops a screw instead of a brown coil. The shop used to only produce traditional fi gures, and then in 2003, against the advice of his family, Marc created his fi rst political fi gures just for the humor of it. The political production was a huge success, and the variety of statues o ered has continued to grow since with sales increasing every year. U.S. Presidents Obama and Trump are top sellers, there are entire collections that people purchase to cherish, and the shop even takes requests and produces custom orders. Caganer used to be sold only at Christmas but are now available year round. They have evolved from a simple nativity fi gurine into a unique souvenir for tourists. Back at the nativity scene, several traditional fi gurines are also available in caganer form. Pooping three wise men and even an angel can grace an otherwise orderly display. All characters appear to be fair game “except for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus,” Marc told me. “Some things have to remain sacred.” 7 HOW TO EXPERIENCE YOUR OWN CATALAN CHRISTMAS In Christmas markets across Costa Brava, all sorts of Tiós, caganers and other nativity scene fi gures can be found. Also, some 30 shops in Barcelona specifi cally carry caganer year round. For the widest variety, head to this website, and start your own collection. Pick up an Angela Merkel, an Angry Bird, a simple photographer, or even have a custom one made of your own! And yes, there is even a caganer Santa Claus to fuse all of the traditions. OTHER TRADITIONS Live nativity scenes can also be found in some medieval towns (although the caganers wear fake bottoms -- I assume no one could be convinced to stand for hours with their pants down in the middle of winter). Els Pastorets (the little shepherds) is a Christmas theatre play about the birth of Jesus and the fi ght between good and evil. Girona hosts some of the best presentations in the area, and their schedule can be found here. Because Santa Claus doesn’t stop in Costa Brava, the Three Wise Men do instead. They arrive on the night of January 5th in each town with an amazing parade. In Catalonia, it is the most special night of the year!.