Day #115: És nadal al meu cor

Posted by Alex | | Posted On Thursday 24 December 2009 at 16:09

It's that time of the year again. It's officially almost Christmas. I think this is the one time of the year, as in the next two days, in which I'm generally quite festive. The other 362 days, I couldn't care less. So, for a bit of festive cheer, I've had a certain song on repeat.



The brilliant thing is, I actually appreciate the way the Spaniards, and particularly Catalans, approach this festive time of year. We have our Christmas tree and the odd nativity scene here and there. They have the caganer, and all the little things which are associated with the verb 'cagar' or 'to shit'. So, while we're celebrating with fairy lights and turkey, they're hunting for a shitting gnome (as that's the best way I can describe it) in a full-size model of Bethlehem! And then, to make things better, they take a hollow trunk filled with sweets, and beat it like a piñata in a game called "fer cagar el tío" or "making the log shit". Honestly, that sounds like more fun than pulling crackers!

The only thing that sounds like a bit of a bother is that the Spanish celebrate Christmas, but on top of that they also celebrate Epiphany as a sort of 'mini-Christmas'. So, while we've all taken down our decorations to avoid the bad luck of 12th night, they're putting out their shoes ready for the Reyes Magos to leave them presents and sweets. And then it all ends on a high-note of a month that counts as celebratory - from December 8th, when Catalans begin filling up their Tío, to January 6th when the Reyes arrive, it's one big fiesta. And how do we spend it? Buying crap we don't need, and listening to Coleen Nolan on the idiot box trying to sell us "rasberry...tart" from Iceland.


Can't we just have a nice Christmas, where we either celebrate the important days for us (24th, 25th, 26th); or, can we do it right, so we're not giving away the significance and importance (religious or otherwise) to the mass-market monopolies around the world. Yeesh.


And with that said, and a little lesson on Catalan Christmas, I bid you all a Bon Nadal.

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