When shit happens

Ok, then. Here is the second tradition for Christmas that only happens in Catalonia. It's the Cagatió. Before explaining anything it's important to tell you about the origin of the word, because it can cause some confusion. If you can understand some Spanish you will know that "caga" means - as we explained before - "to make shit", but "tió" doesn't mean "dude" -if you were thinking so- it means "log of wood" (see the picture). The whole word means, literally: the log that makes shit. Yeah! I know! WTF!

Here is the tradition: every Christmas eve (that you must already know that is the main event in Xmas in Spain, and not as important as the Xmas meal) the children in the house carry this traditional piece of wood to the living room, and cover its lower part with a blanket, for you to see it like a person sleeping on the floor. There is only one rule: feed it until the night comes (kind of a gremlin). Then the little children feed it up like the world was about to end, and the food magically disappears (don't want to spoil this for children, you know what I'm talking about...). When the day is over, the children exit the living room and leave the parents arranging the magical process that will take part a moment after. The parents call the children in and then, all together, with a stick in their hands they hit the "Cagatió" singing a song that says:

Shit log,

shit nougats,

hazelnuts and cottage cheese,

if you don't shit well,

I'll hit you with a stick,

shit log!

When the song is over, with a smile on their faces, the children uncover the log to discover all the presents that the Cagatió has shit for them. Literally, they have kicked the shit out of it. Depending on the family they repeat all the process different times, and when they uncover the Cagatió and only find candy, it means it's over. Then dinner starts and the Cagatió will keep waiting until next year.

For more information (and for you to see this is absolutely real): CagaTió

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