Christmas in Catalonia

In Catalonia, we celebrate Christmas in a slightly different way than in the rest of Spain.

In Catalonia, it is traditional to build, in our houses, a small Nativity Scene representing the scene of birth of Jesus, which we call “Pessebre”. The tratidional "Pessebre" is made of actual materials such as moss, branches, water, cork, etc. 

Pessebre

Detail of a Pessebre

We also include clay figures, being “El Caganer” an emblematic Catalan figurine. “El Caganer” (which literally translates as “The Crapper) is a traditional figurine wearing the traditional Catalan red cap (barretina) and is depicted in the act of defecation. For the past decades, it has become popular to include figures of "The Caganer” representing all kind of public figures, such as Angela Merkel, Elvis, Albert Einstein, the Pope, or Leo Messi.    

Traditional Caganer

Often, on the streets of some Catalan towns, there are also live representations of the “Pessebre”, in which their protagonists mantain their positions in a steady state for some hours.

Real life Pessebre

Another Catalan Christmas tradition is a typical theatrical representation known in Catalan as “Els Pastorets” (the Shepherds). These representations combine the birth of Jesus with several stories of shepherds looking back on the first Christmas celebration.

Theatrical representation of Els Pastorets

One of the most emblematic Catalan Christmas tradition is the presence of the mythological creature "Tió de Nadal" (meaning in English "Christmas Log"). This magical creature comes from the woods and gets into your home seeking for food and a warm place to stay. Therefore, we cover him with a blanket and give him some food every night, usually mandarins. While the children are sleeping, the parents peel those mandarins and leave the peels on the plate. On the next morning, the children are excited to see that the "Tió de Nadal" is eating well.

Tió de Nadal

On Christmas day, or Christmas Eve, the "Tió de Nadal" is ordered to defecate (seems like we have a weird obsession going on here ;) ). In order to make it defecate, children beat the "Tió de Nadal" with a wooden stick, while singing traditional songs "threatening" the poor "Tió de Nadal": "if you do not defecate sweet stuff, I will beat you again", sing the Catalan kids. 

Traditionally, after singing the songs, the children were asked to leave the room and go to pray for the "Tió de Nadal" to defecate nice presents (usually chocolates, candy or small toys). Nowadays, children are not asked to go to pray anymore, but parents still manage to make them leave the room for a moment. At this point, parents use their chance to place the presents under the blanket. When the kids come back, they discover that the "Tió de Nadal" has defecated some delicious stuff, Once the kids grow up and discover the secret, presents are placed directly under the blanket. However, the kids continue to perform the ritual, yet knowing that the presents are already there (sometimes the youngest ones do not even realize it). 

In the following video, you can see children performing this ritual at their school:

Regarding important dates in the Catalan Christmas, we also celebrate the 26^th of December, commemorating the Feast of St. Stephen. On this day, it is tradition to have lunch with the other part of the family with whom you couldn't celebrate Christmas the previous day. It is common to serve for lunch "Canelons", a kind of pasta rolled and stuffed with minced roasted meat. The "Canelons" are topped with béchamel sauce and cheese, and then grilled in the oven.

Canelons

In Catalonia, we do not get our presents from Santa Claus, but from the Three Wise Men, or Three Kings, whom we know as the "Reis Mags". These three kings, guided by a star, visited Jesus when he was born and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. In Catalonia, the kings come the night of the 5th of January.

Els Reis Mags

At that evening, everybody goes to see the Cavalcade of Magi, a traditional parade in which the Three Kings and their assistants ride through the city and throw candies to the children, who excitedly welcome them. By the time the parade is over, and the families arrive home, the Three Kings have already been there and and left the children's presents under the Christmas tree.

Cavalcade of Magi or Cavalcada dels Reis Mags

On the 28th of December, we celebrate The Massacre of the Innocents, which we call "Dia Dels Sants Innocents". It is tradition on this day to play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other, similarly to April Fool's Day. The most traditional hoax is to sneakily stick a piece of paper on someone's back.

One of the most traditional Catalan foods served during Christmas is the torró, typically made of honey, sugar and egg whites. Often, it also includes toasted nuts, such as almonds, and they are shaped into a rectangular tablet. 

Two kinds of Torró

Neules are another typical Catalan biscuit traditionally dipped into Cava before eaten (Cava is a sparkling wine mostly produced in Catalonia, similar to champagne). Neules consist of egg whites, butter, sugar and flour. The dough is thinly pressed and then rolled into a cylindrical shape. These days, neules coated in chocolate are quickly gaining popularity among the Catalans. 

Catalan tradition of dipping Neules into Cava

I hope you found the Catalan Christmas traditions interesting and enjoyed this post. If you want to know more, please do not hesitate to leave your questions in the comments, I will be glad to answer them.