There’s no Valentine’s Day here, but in late April, they have Sant Jordi — a celebration of love during which women are supposed to give a man a book in exchange for a rose.
Many people also celebrate La Mona on the Monday after Easter. Traditionally, godparents give their godchildren an egg-shaped cake for the whole family to enjoy.
My all-time favorite Catalonia traditions come at Christmas.
For the whole month of December, children leave food and water out for Caga Tió, which translates to pooping log. Then they hit the log with a stick on Christmas Eve, and Caga Tió “poops out” presents.
People take this tradition very seriously; the streets of Barcelona are decorated with this pooping log, and just about every store has one in its window.
In the same vein, caganers are another fascinating Christmas tradition in Catalonia. The little pooping figurine is placed in nativity scenes to represent fertilization and hope for the new year.
Now, there are caganer shops all over Barcelona year-round for tourists. Nearly every celebrity has been transformed into a caganer, from Freddy Mercury to SpongeBob SquarePants to Joe Biden.
