Key Takeaways
As crappy vacation tradition go , the Catalonians may have the rest of the world beat . That ’s because this northeastern frontier settlement of Spain has some unquestionably bathroom - ladenChristmas customsthat go forth many unsuspecting visitors scratching their oral sex , laughing or both . Without further ado , we exhibit youel caganer , a statue of a person pooping , off in a corner of a traditional Nativity scene .
This is not some late cultural development that signals the precipitation of advanced club . Rather , it ’s a tradition that date back at least two C .
In Catalan , a Romance words from the region of Catalonia , Spain , the wordcaganertranslates some to " toilet , " although some sources use rougher spoken communication . The most democratic caganer features a male boor in a red hat , crouched with his buttocks exposed , and anunmistakable little brown pileat his feet .
At Christmastime , the caganer is surreptitiously hidden somewhere within a Nativity tantrum . baby make a game of trying to spot the pooping figurine as he crouches in the shadows . The caganer is never at the front of the scene becausethatwould be awless .
No one really knowswhat establish riseto this long - endure custom . Because fecal matter has been used as fertiliser for agriculture throughout chronicle , some say the statue are a fertility symbolization of sort . By plopping a pooper in the midst of the scene , perhaps farmers will gain favor with higher mogul , find prosperous conditions for craw , and ultimately wind up with greater yields at harvest home time .
But there are a couple of other theories in gaming .
Because the Christian faith posit that Jesus literally became human to redeem people from their sins , perhaps the pooping statue is a reminder of human race ’s coarse bonds . Furthermore , maybe the caganer intentionally portrays a rather undignified secret moment in conjunction with a Nativity scene to reenforce our shared vulnerability in the presence of a higher major power .
No one really know . But one thing ’s for certain — caganers are big business .
The caganer ’s bout toward fame came in 2003 , when need for Catalonian - made statue was shed and cheap Chinese moment were cutting into the market . The troupe El Caganer take note that it was an election year and made caganers withpoliticians ' alikeness on them .
Rather than take crime , those politician gamely embraced the silly mockery , and consumers bang it . The irreverent caganers became a immense hit , and now the company sell tens of thousands of the items every year .
Since then , the artists who make these figurines have been turning famous people , like politician and renown , into pooping figurines . Each class , they monitor news program headlines and pop cultivation , introducing new face that they think will sell well . That includes Donald Trump , Shakespeare , Spock , Tiger Woods , Boris Johnson , George Michael , the Bishop of Rome , Madonna and awhole lot more .
Then , theworkers carve a likenessfrom plaster and construct a mildew . From that mould come hundreds or even thousands of clay procreation , after part and all . The small figures are painted by artists , which sometimes include handicapped mass in the local community .
The object lesson ? At Christmastime in Catalonia , poop smell , but it also sell .
