El Nadal - primera part

Ok, I haven't done a blog for AGGGEEESS so I'm (hopefully) going to make up for it now by doing a few in one go. I'm going to do them about Catalan Christmas because I find it fascinating and hilarious at the same time (Chris, it should appeal to your apparently childish sense of humour).

A lot of Catalan Christmas traditions are centred around...poo. The most popular manifestation of this being the 'caganer' (it translates as pooper). This is a small figurine of a boy dressed in traditional Catalan costume and hat ('barretina'), "in the act of defacation".



I was in Barcelona this time last year and caganers are sold everywhere, particularly at a big Christmas market outside Catedral de Santa Eulalia and they leave nothing to the imagination in terms of the defamating act! Caganers are placed in the corner of cribs and nativity scenes (el pessebre) far away from the trinity and other traditional figures. Some say the reason for this is that it is a fun game to find the caganer hidden in the nativity scene (however in the case of the one I took home for my mum, it's so that nobody can see that there's somebody defecating in her nativity scene). As well as the traditionally dressed ones, caganers are also made to look like famous or political figures and it's possible to find a caganer of literally anybody (the Spanish royal family, the Pope, Barack Obama, the entire FC Barca team, Don Quijote, Dalí, smurfs, a tower of castellers...the list goes on.) Check out this website to have a look at some of the famous people ones http://www.caganer.com/novedades-2009-c-57.html, or here's one of Gordon Brown...



At first I was quite shocked that it was seen as acceptable to make caganers of members of the royal family and respected figures but I actually think it's quite nice and shows a difference in Catalan and British attitudes to political correctness and when it's appropriate and when it's not. I also think it shows how strong the tradition is behind caganers, as although it is clearly a humorous custom and viewed as such, it is very traditional and is not meant in anyway to be offensive or derogatory. The extent to which this is viewed as an integral part of Catalan culture was demonstrated in 2005 when a nativity scene was erected in Barcelona which did not contain a caganer and there was public outcry and claims that it was an attack on Catalan customs. Barcelona council stated that it was due to the fact that a law had been passed that year which made urinating and defecating publicly illegal but the caganer returned in 2006 after a campaign 'Salvem el Caganer' was launched.

The origins of the caganer are relatively unknown and there are various reasons given for its being. The most popular is that he will fertilise the earth and bring a good harvest for the coming year, and buying a caganer is said to bring good luck. Another is that it promotes the equality of all people as a peasant in the midst of a very primitive act is included next to the holy family in the nativity scene. Going along with this theme, another reason is that the caganer provides a sense of naturalism to the nativity scene, originating from the time when they could only be afforded by the upper classes who decorated them in an opulent and over the top fashion. Personally, I quite like this explanation the best: the idea that the caganer is a representation of the common man as I think it best relates the tradition back to the meaning of Christmas.

I think a lot of Brits would be shocked to know that there are figurines of our most famous public figures in the middle of their daily act, and at first I thought caganers were really odd but now I LOVE them! I think it's not only funny, but sentimental as well and says a lot about Catalans which I like.