The Eye

Barcelona

Catalan Christmas crapper still the best

Christmas is gone, but 2014's Catalan poopers are here to stay. In this picture, clay caganers are displayed at the Santa Llucia Christmas market in central Barcelona. Tourists are always shocked, but lots of them go back home with a caganer as proof of what they have seen, so that their friends believe them when they explain that Catalans hide caganers, or crappers, in Christmas nativity scenes to let friends hunt for them during Christmas celebrations. The caganers, which symbolises the fertilization of the earth, are believed to bring prosperity and luck for the coming year. It used to be a simple Catalan farmer, but nowadays your pooper can be Captain America, Madonna, Freddie Mercury, La Grossa lottery, Spain's queen Letizia and King Felipe IV, Italian politician Beppe Grillo, Britain's Prince Charles and Prince William, Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond or India's prime minister, Narendra Modi. Forget about Castellers, the best Catalan tradition ever is the Christmas crapper.

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