Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Boglebam. Here as crappy holiday traditions go,
Speaker 1: the Catalonians may have the rest of the world beat.
Speaker 1: That's because this northeastern outpost of Spain has some bathroom
Speaker 1: adjacent Christmas customs that may leave unsuspecting visitors scratching their heads, laughing,
Speaker 1: or both. Without further ado, we present to you the cagonet,
Speaker 1: a statue of a person pooping off in a corner
Speaker 1: of a traditional nativity scene. This is not some recent
Speaker 1: cultural development that signals the downfall of modern society. Rather,
Speaker 1: it's a tradition that dates back at least two centuries.
Speaker 1: In Catalan Romance language from the region of Catalonia, Spain,
Speaker 1: the word caganet translates roughly to crapper, although some sources
Speaker 1: use rougher language. The most popular cagonet features a male
Speaker 1: peasant and a at hat crouched with his buttocks exposed
Speaker 1: and an unmistakable little brown pile at his feet. At
Speaker 1: Christmas time. The caganet is sneakily hidden somewhere within an
Speaker 1: activity scene. A children make a game of trying to
Speaker 1: spot the pooping figure. As he crouches in the shadows,
Speaker 1: and the caganet is never at the front of the
Speaker 1: scene because that would be disrespectful. No one really knows
Speaker 1: what gave rise to this long lived tradition. Because fecal
Speaker 1: matter has been used as a fertilizer for agriculture throughout history,
Speaker 1: some say the statues are a fertility symbol of sorts.
Speaker 1: By plopping a pooper in the midst of the scene,
Speaker 1: perhaps farmers will gain favor with Heaven, find favorable conditions
Speaker 1: for crops, and ultimately wind up with greater yields at
Speaker 1: harvest time. But there are a couple of other theories
Speaker 1: in play. Because the Christian faith states that Jesus literally
Speaker 1: became human in order to save followers from their sins,
Speaker 1: perhaps the pooping statue is a reminder of humanity's common bonds. Furthermore,
Speaker 1: maybe the caganet purposefully portrays a rather undignified private moment
Speaker 1: in conjunction with a Nativity scene to reinforce our shared
Speaker 1: vulnerability in the presence of a higher power. No one
Speaker 1: really knows, but one thing is for sure. Caganets are
Speaker 1: a big business. The caganets turned towards fame, came into
Speaker 1: thousand three, when demand for Catalonian made statues was dropping
Speaker 1: and cheap Chinese imports were cutting into the market. The
Speaker 1: company Elkganet took note that it was an election year
Speaker 1: and made caganets with politicians likenesses. Rather than take offense,
Speaker 1: these politicians gamely embraced the silly mockery and consumers loved it.
Speaker 1: The irreverent caganets became a huge hit, and now the
Speaker 1: company sells tens of thousands of the items every year.
Speaker 1: Since then, the artists who make these figurines have been
Speaker 1: turning famous people like politicians and celebrities into pooping figures.
Speaker 1: Each year. They monitor news headlines and pop culture, introducing
Speaker 1: new faces that they think will sell well at has
Speaker 1: included Donald Trump, Shakespeare, Spock, Tiger Woods, Boris Johnson, George Michael,
Speaker 1: the Pope, Madonna, and a whole lot more. Then, the
Speaker 1: workers carve a likeness from plaster and construct a mold.
Speaker 1: From that mold could come hundreds or even thousands of
Speaker 1: clay reproductions poop and all the little figures are painted
Speaker 1: by artists, which sometimes includes disabled people from local communities.
Speaker 1: The lesson at Christmas time in Catalonia whoop smells, but
Speaker 1: it also sells. Caganets aren't the only poopy caddle. On tradition,
Speaker 1: children also feed a teo, Dana Doll or Christmas log
Speaker 1: with treats. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, parents
Speaker 1: sneakily switch out the logs to make it seem as
Speaker 1: though it's getting bigger. On the final day, the log
Speaker 1: takes a pinata form and kids hit it with a
Speaker 1: stick while singing a somewhat vulgar pooping song until the
Speaker 1: log whoops out treats galore. Today's SOD was written by
Speaker 1: Nathan Chandler and produced by Tyler Clang. For more in
Speaker 1: this and lots of other topics, visit how stuff works
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