Barcelona wonderful destination for the Christmas Holidays
Friday, 12 December 2014 11:21
Barcelona is a great holiday destination and for Christmas they have their very own wonderful customs
So grab a flight, rent an apartment in Barcelona for the holidays with Barcelona Properties & Real Estate and look out for these interesting holiday traditions.
Caga Tió
On the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Christmas Tió (the Christmas log) needs to be ‘fed’. Christmas Tió is a magic log that poops presents on Christmas Eve, although he might poop coal if children behave badly!
To make sure Tió does a good poop he is beaten with a stick and a song is sung: “Caga Tió, Tió de Nadal / No caguis arengades, que són salades / Caga torrons, que són més bons!” This translates as “Caga Tió, Christmas Tió / Don't poop sardines, which are salty / Poop turrons, which are nicer!”
You might find sweets, turrons, or toffees and more recently also little toys or presents when you lift the little blanket that keeps Tió warm.
Christmas in the kitchen
Most families will celebrate Christmas together and enjoy traditional Christmas foods such as pasta shell soup, escudella, and the typical sweets: turrons and neules. On Boxing Day most families will have cannelloni. A must for most homes is the nativity scene, with the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus, the ox and the mule, watched over by the shepherds and the Three Kings. Putting the nativity scene together has developed into a fine art, involving all kinds of materials, although the most common continue to be cork, moss and wood, to give it the appearance of the Bethlehem landscape. You cannot have a nativity scene without a caganer. Putting a figure, supposedly a shepherd, in the nativity scene, hidden behind a bush or a tree while he relieves himself, brings good luck. The caganer's fame is such that, these days, he is given the face of famous people in the news - politicians, sportsmen and women, and people from the world of entertainment.
Holy Innocents' Day
Holy Innocents' Day is held on December 28 every year and functions a little like an April Fool’s day with many practical jokes and pranks. You’ll find a paper doll hung on your back, or a newspaper publishing a made-up news item and much more.
