“Poop” has always been present in some Catalan Christmas traditions (for instance, “el Caganer” (the pooper)). Beyond its scatological nature, the Caga Tió tradition, the Christmas log that poops presents, is one of the most beautiful Christmas traditions, especially for the kids. In case you want to enjoy this fun adventure with them, keep reading to know how the process goes from picking up this magic log to finally making him take a special poop ;-)
Who is El Tió?
El Tió is a Christmas pooping log who brings presents to all of the kids in Catalonia on Christmas Day. But until they get them, they need to follow a special ritual of taking care of this magic log.
What do you need to celebrate this tradition?
- A magic log. You will have to hike with your kids to the woods on a mission: finding this magic log which is waiting for you to pick him up and bring him home ;-).
- A blanket, to cover him so it doesn’t get cold.
- Some food to feed this little magic guy (he likes mangerines and bread).
- Sticks or tree branches to make him poop presents.
What is the ritual of “Cagar el tió”
After picking up this log from the woods, he is brought home and accommodated in the living room. He is covered with a blanket so that he doesn’t get cold and feels totally comfy at his new place. The kids will have to take care of him from early December until December 25. Specifically they will be in charge of feeding the Christmas pooping log at night before going to bed. When they wake up in the morning, they will realize how Tió ate all the food they gave him last night ;-)
Feeding el Tió de Nadal properly will lead him to achieve his main goal: to poop a lot of gifts for the kids on Christmas Day!
December 25: Tió is ready to poop presents
Old days feeding this magic log have come to an end: it is December 25, time to reunite with the whole family and see how many gifts Tió is going to poop. How do we get him to poop all those presents? This is probably the toughest part: the kids hit him with sticks while singing popular Tió songs. There are many different lyrics depending on the territory, here is a fragment of one of them:
Caga tió, tió de Nadal,
No caguis arengades, que són molt salades,
Caga torrons, que són més bons
Si no cagues ara, cop de bastó, cop de bastó!”
Where does the Caga tió tradition come from?
This tradition has centuries of history and it was initially linked to nature, fertility and the Winter solstice. The current pooping log tradition hides some ancient rituals aimed at attracting abundance and fostering family bonds, specially during Wintertime. Getting Tió to poop is a metaphor which reflects a connection to nature: ask her to continue producing in order to keep the group fed and safe.
Centuries ago this log was usually burnt to illuminate those cold winter nights and also to keep strange presences away from the group. It burnt from Christmas Day to Three Kings Day and afterwards it was saved at home as a protective amulet. The ashes were spread in the fields, stables or even on the beds to attract fertility in its broadest sense.
Where to get a Christmas pooping log in Barcelona?
Besides enjoying this fun tradition, specially for kids, there are also TOP things to do during Christmas in Barcelona. Among them, visiting the beautiful Christmas market Mercat de Santa Llúcia which is located in Plaça de la Catedral. Check out the post we wrote about this market:
In case you can’t go get the Tió in the woods, you will find lots of pooping logs at this Christmas market, waiting for somebody to bring them home ;-)