Let’s move on to one of the favourite times of the year, Christmas.
You can find many traditions across Europe which take place around this time.
Logs wear traditional red hats and children take care of them, they even feed them so that it gave a lot of trea
ts. On Christmas Eve, children are given a stick to hit Caga Tió. They can also sing a special song. Afterwards, they find small toys and sweets that have fallen out of the log.
The story has it that Caga Tió arrives at the doorstep in early December, usually around the time of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December. Those he visits are expected t
o take him in and take care of him in the run-up to Christmas Day.
Children are told to ‘feed’ Caga Tió dry bread, orange peel or dried beans, and in the days just before Christmas, children are told to take extra care of Caga Tió if they want him to bear gifts on Christmas Eve.
This is where it becomes fascinating. In order for the Caga Tió to produce his gifts, children are instructed to beat him with a wooden stick and sing to him, ordering him to poop presents. A common Catalan version of the song goes along the lines of: ‘Poop, log
, poop nougats (turrón), hazelnuts and mató cheese, if you don’t poop well, I’ll hit you with a stick…’
