#caganer

El Caganer can be found in Christmas nativity scenes, but not in the manger. He’s usually tucked away somewhere, presenting his gift to baby Jesus, so to say.

He usually wears the traditional Catalonian red cap, a white peasant shirt and squats with his pants pulled down and a pile of excrement on the ground behind him.

There are many styles to choose from.

You can even get American political figures and celebrities. 

The caganer was traced as a folk-art character to the 16th century.

The story goes that he became popular as a nativity figure in the 19th century. Catalonians have “an abiding taste” for scatological humor and place the value of a “good crap” on level with that of a “good meal.” An old Catalonian folk saying goes “Menjar be, cagar fort, I no tingues por de la mort” or “Eat well, shit strongly, and you will have no fear of death.”

This stall at the Christmas fair (fira de nadal) in front of the Barcelona Cathedral sells crèches and caganers.