3. Caganer
Caganer is a strange little fella who features in Catalan Christmas tradition. The Spanish take their nativity sets very seriously and a nativity scene is not complete without Caganer. The average set has over thirty figurines and some are very large in scale taking months to create. Caganer is often placed in the back amongst the animals and he is dressed in an old-fashioned Spanish attire. So far theres nothing to suggest this is weird apart from the fact that hes taking a big old dump. Caganer roughly translates as pooper. Caganer isn't meant to mess up the birth of Christ, in fact he adds a little innocent bit of toilet humor to the holidays. There is no clear definition as to why hes there. I asked my friend from Murcia who simply said, well it was a long night and lots of things happened: shepherds came with sheep, wise men brought gifts, a baby was born and someone just needed the loo. Other, perhaps more reliable sources link it to the naturalism movement in the 17th and 18th century. Adding a defecating dude to the nativity scene meant that it became more grounded in reality. A religious archetype suddenly became relatable. The figurine has also spawned other hilarious versions that include famous politicians and football players and theres one doing the rounds on the interweb of Barak Obama. Like other great Christmas traditions this one has crossed the border to neighboring regions where Catalan culture is prominent like Andorra, parts of southern France and the Balearic Islands but its also popular in Portugal and southern Italy. I think I might stick one on my tree this year.
