Catalan Christmas Traditions

by Aïda Eloísa Gutiérrez Sant (HU21A)

Many of you have probably noticed that there is a wooden log with a smiley face right next to Santa Claus on the cover of this school newspaper. Well, that is one of the catalan traditions that I as a catalan celebrate every year around Christmas time. Keep reading to find out more about how Christmas is celebrated in Catalonia!

The “Tió”

The ‘Tió’ is a wooden log with a smiling face painted onto one end that wears a traditional Catalan hat called "barretina".Children would go out in the woods at the beginning of December in order to find the perfect Tió. They will bring him home and take care of him until Christmas Eve Children would cover Tió with a blanket to keep him warm and feed him with fruit peel every day right after dinner. Now here comes the fun part: when Christmas comes, the children will beat the Tió with a stick while singing a traditional song until he feces out the presents under the blanket. The more children take care of him, the more presents he feces for Christmas. Although this may sound like a weird tradition, the Tió is a very loved character in Catalonia and can be found in lots of houses around Christmas time!

The Fira de Santa Llúcia

The Fira de Santa Llúcia takes place in front of the cathedral in Barcelona at around Christmas time and it’s usually the place where people buy their Christmas trees and their Tió. This fair usually starts by the end of November and runs all the way until a few short days before Christmas Day.

El dia dels Sants innocents

‘El dia dels Sants innocents’ (Holy Innocents Day) is the equivalent of April Fool's Day and it's a day where people prank each other. Even television and newspapers will create bogus reports to trick their readers and viewers. When somebody is fooled they are mocked by the joker exclaiming 'Innocent!" if the person fell for their trickery

Three Kings Day

And lastly we have a personal favorite! The 'Three Kings Day' or in Catalan "Els tres reis mags d'Orient" is a tradition that really focuses on the children, who wait with excitement for the arrival of The Three Kings from the Far East: Melcior, Gaspar and Baltasar The celebration begins on January 5th, where the Three Kings arrive in town on camelback and they are welcomed to the city with an enormous procession, in which the Kings throw sweets to the children on the streets that have gathered there to see them. The biggest procession is in the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona, but every town has its own procession. If someone asks how they can be at different places at the same night, the answer is simple: they are magic!

That day, after the procession, children have to clean one of their shoes and leave them out for the Three Kings to find. They will also have to leave water and some carrots for the camels and some treats and sweet wine for the Kings, because bringing presents to all kids during one night is an exhausting job! The day after, on January 6th, if the children have behaved well during the year, they will find presents by the shoe that they left the night before. But, if they have been naughty, they will find coal next to their shoe (sometimes families buy a candy that looks like coal to prank their children) On the day itself, the whole family will gather together and share a meal with a very particular dessert: 'el tortell de reis'. It consists of a ring-shaped cake with a paper crown in the middle. Inside the cake there is a small king figure and a dry green bean. When the cake is served, everyone checks if they have gotten either object. The person that finds the King will be crowned King, while the person who finds the green bean is the unlucky one and would have to pay for the cake.