7. Nativities In Parts Of Spain Feature A Defecating Rapscallion!
Imagine a big arcing smear going from the South of France, down through Catalonia all the way to Murcia in the South East of Spain. These are the areas which not only advocate but outright celebrate a little man pooing somewhere in the nativity scene. That little man goes by the name of Caganer, or Cagones, or Cacone depending on the town, mood or level of drunkenness experienced by the namer. There are plenty of explanations as to why he features in a scene considered by many as sacrosanct and flawless: a symbol of agricultural fertility; a way to express the reality of the moment captured; or a warning that God comes ready or not. Whatever the reason, though, people are loathe to lose the little beggar from the scene. So much so that in 2002, when the city council of Barcelona chose not to include a Caganer in their nativity for sanitary reasons, the fury of the public and media was unleashed upon them in a furore of Traditionalism until the council backed down and reinstated the cheeky little squatter. And rightly so too.