This is the traditional Catalan
cagatio, literally translated it is the "sh*t log" , but
Christmas log sounds nicer to me ! It wears the traditional Catalan
barretina and it can be found in Christmas markets nowad
ays. See some feet on the right of the shot for an idea of the proportions. The tradition is that fifteen days before Christmas (on Dec 8th, which is a Catholic holiday in Spain), the log makes his appearance in Catalan homes, where he must be fed with oranges and cookies at least once a day and it is covered with a blanket to keep him warm (see the picture on the left, courtesy of the net). On Christmas Eve, before the traditional Christmas dinner, the kids start beating the log with sticks, singing traditional songs , to make him...well, empty his bowels!
Then the blanket is removed to expose the surprise: the log has released small wrapped gifts, which are called ..."the sh*ts", how original! Please note that according to the local Christmas traditions, Spanish children get their large presents from the Three Wise Men on the Eve of January 6th .
More in the
wiki. And an
update: we were not born here and came as adults, this is one tradition we didn't follow at home when our son was small, and not now, either. But it's fun to see the logs every year!
More
Ruby Tuesdays pictures are found
here.My World Tuesday pictures are in turn over
here.
The
big news (for this blogger) : last
Tuesday I published some pictures from the fascinating night display featuring the Moon, Jupiter and Venus. It was beautiful to watch and I submitted my pictures to the
Discovery Channel just for fun... to my huge surprise I got an e-mail on Friday telling me one of my pictures belonged to a total of 10 (ten!) of all submissions to be
featured in the
Discovery Channel/ Space!! click here to see it. I am thrilled, to say the least! and I just had to share my excitement with you!!!
.jpg)
ays. See some feet on the right of the shot for an idea of the proportions. The tradition is that fifteen days before Christmas (on Dec 8th, which is a Catholic holiday in Spain), the log makes his appearance in Catalan homes, where he must be fed with oranges and cookies at least once a day and it is covered with a blanket to keep him warm (see the picture on the left, courtesy of the net). On Christmas Eve, before the traditional Christmas dinner, the kids start beating the log with sticks, singing traditional songs , to make him...well, empty his bowels!
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I attended a little Advent market last week, a small number of artists where exhibiting their creations and selling them themselves. A wonderful opportunity to have a little chat about their pieces! There were many beautiful items to choose from, not everything was about Christmas! these are the Advent wreaths the German community was looking for, since the 1. Advent is this coming Sunday and the first candle will be lit. I have an evergreen (from the Hamburg years) made out of porcelain to use every year as I am not talented to make a wreath of this kind (or of any kind!)
I live near the Mediterranean Sea and our area had a stormy weekend . Because of that, the beach was flooded as you can see below.
On a regular day there is no reflection, just sand!
Sunny Spain is sometimes cloudy and dark! if you look closely, maybe you can see the city of Barcelona on the left... not really, but that's at least the right direction!
