A popular Christmas tradition in Barcelona and the Catalonia province of Spain is the “Tió de Nadal” which is also called the "Caga tió." In this context the word "tió" in Catalan language means “log." (In Spanish "tio" means "uncle” or “guy.") "Tió de Nadal" means "Christmas log or trunk" - and not "Christmas uncle" or "Christmas guy." Caga Tió means "Poop log!" :-) Yes. Caga Tió is Christmas log that poos presents and is sold all over town in supermarkets and Christmas markets. At Barcelona's biggest Christmas market, the Santa Llúcia market, there is a giant Tió de Nadal, which poops out candy and sweets from 1st to 23rd December for the children under 12 years of age.

What are we talking about you might ask. Well the “Tió de Nadal” Christmas log is a log or tree stump standing on stick legs with a very happy face painted at one end and wearing a red Catalan barretina hat. You can buy a Tió de Nadal in all sizes at Catalan Christmas markets and you can often see a giant Tió de Nadal at public Christmas events. What is the Caga Tió tradition and why is it called a poop log? It works like this. The Christmas log is "fed," pampered and looked after by children from the 8th December - the day of Immaculate Conception called “Dia de la Immaculada Concepció,” - until Christmas Eve on 24th December. The Caga Tió even gets a blanket to keep it warm at night.

On Christmas Eve the Caga Tió is put very close to the fireplace. The children then sing the “Caga Tió” song to get the log to “poo” some presents. While they are singing, they whip the log with a stick. When the song is finished with a final load cry of “Caga Tió!” ( = the imperative tense of the the verb "to defacate," so it means "shit log!") The children then leave the room to pray for presents, thus giving the parents the opportunity to put some presents in the hollow log or under the blanket (most Caga Tió logs these days are not hollow.) Then when the children come back into the room they get the present, which the log has pooed! Charming!

Generally the present is candy, sweets and turrón nougat and maybe one gift. The bulk of Christmas gifts for children in Spain are delivered on 6th January by the Three Kings. When the log has nothing left to "shit", it finishes the deed with a salt herring, a head of garlic, an onion, or it "urinates" by leaving a bowl of water. The Caga tió are generally regarding as communal gifts to be shared by everyone. After the log has finished crapping presents, if you have a fireplace, you can burn the “Tió" log afterwards. Most people just keep it for next year.

The Caga Tió is a tradition with century old origins back to the days when the fireplace was a central and important part of family life. The ashes of the burnt log were kept and spread by crops and near the stable and even on the beds as a rite to promote fertility. English translation Caga tió Christmas song:
Shit, log,
Shit nougats (turrón),
Hazelnuts and mató cheese,
If you don't shit well,
I'll hit you with a stick,
Shit, log!

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