I don’t know what it is with Catalonia and Christmas poo, but along with the pooping boy hidden in their nativity scenes, Catalonian Christmas tradition also includes Tió de Nadal, an anthropomorphic log that shits presents.
Beginning on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, households in Catalan display a hollow log (face and hat optional) for children to care for throughout the month. They’re encouraged to cover their new Christmas friend with a blanket at night to keep it warm and to feed it delicious food, lest it starve.
On Christmas morning, the log is placed near the fireplace, and the children sing this song: “Shit, log, almonds and nougats, do not defecate herrings, which are too salty. Defecate nougats which are better. Shit, log, almonds and nougats, and if you don’t want to defecate, I will give you a smack! Shit, log!”
Like the song says, the children then beat the log they’ve cared for with a stick, ordering it to crap out the damn presents already.
The parents send their kids away on some pretext, and when they return, the room is filled with goodies produced from the magical colon of Tió de Nadal, proving, beyond a doubt that kids will believe anything if they think they’ll get a present out of it.
