Decorating our house for Christmas was definitely different this year. In Vermont, we go to a Christmas tree farm, trek through the snow, cut down our own tree and schlep it back to the car on a sled. The process takes a good part of our day and is definitely an event. Here in Barcelona, we walked to a florist three blocks from our house, picked out a potted, alive, tree there, and schlepped it back home. A sled would have been useful, actually, because a medium sized tree potted with its roots and all is actually pretty heavy. We made it using our muscles alone - well, mostly Tyler's muscles, but the boys and I tried to help sometimes. It probably took us about 20 minutes, and a good part of that was spend waiting for the florists to find us a bucket to keep the tree in and watching them decorate the top with moss.
The next morning we went downtown to a large Christmas market that is held in front of the cathedral. There you can find trees and wreaths and booths and booths and booths selling items to add to your nativity scene. From the variety of items on sale, it is clear that many Catalans don't stop with just the sacred family and some shepherds when they create their nativity scene, but instead create the entire village of Bethlehem. We bought a shepherd, wisemen, a hill with some bunnies on it, sheep, and a small shack for the shepherd to hand out in. We also couldn't resist the tiny bundle of hay. But what the boys were most excited to see were the variety of Caganeros for sale. Among the traditional figure you see in Nativity scenes, Catalans always include a Caganero- a figure squatting, with his pants down and pooping. This was traditionally a shepherd, but in recent years all kinds of Caganeros can now be found based on sports heroes, political figures, cartoons, movie stars, etc. We enjoyed the Caganero of Yoda, the lizard from Parc Güell, Homer Simpson and a Smurf (his poop was blue!). | And the poop-related Christmas fun doesn't stop there. Catalan children also enjoy Caga Tio, a log with a face and a small red hat, whose name mean "Poop Log". You feed him every day in December and give him a blanket to keep him warm. Then on Christmas Eve you hit with a stick, sing a song where you tell him to "shit good", and then leave the room. When you come back in, you look under his blanket for presents he has pooped for you. Totally bizarre, but Isaac and Felix were completely onboard once they learned about him in school. |