People in this country beat a smiling Christmas log until it poops out presents

Fancy Santa Claus pooping out Christmas presentsas a reward for you beating him up? Some people do because this is exactly what happens in a country we all love - Spain, in particular - the Catalonia region. Here is all you need to know about this quirky Christmas tradition.

Who is Tío de Nadal, or Caga Tío?

Tío de Nadal, also known as Caga Tío, or pooping log, is one of Catalonia’s weirdest Christmas traditions. He is one of the most highly anticipated holiday guests in homes across not only this region but also Aragón and Valencia. He brings together the festive season and is known for his generous act of defecation.

Caga Tío is essentially a log with a jolly face painted on one end. Itis often propped up on two front legs, wearing a red sock to mimic the traditional red Catalan beret known as the barretina and covered with a blanket.

The story is that Caga Tió arrives at the doorstep in early December, so its figures can be found at Christmas markets starting from the Feast of the Immaculate Conception which falls on December 8th. Children are then expected to look after it all the way up until Christmas Eve.

How does he do his gift-giving?

Tradition dictates that children must ‘feed’ scraps of food - dry bread, orange peel or dried beans - to the log, and each night in the run-up to Christmas cover him with a blanket to protect him from the cold.

If they do it successfully, the log will reward its carers by pooping out gifts, traditionally Turrón, a sweet typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds, or dried figs and nuts, but in modern times anything from chocolates to toys.

Tío de Nadal does it on one condition though: you have to beat it with a stick and order it to defecate while also singing something like:

Poop, log,

poop nougats (turrón),

hazelnuts and mató cheese,

if you don’t poop well,

I’ll hit you with a stick,

poop, log!

Just before hitting the Caga Tió, children are instructed to go out of the room and pray for him to provide them with lots of gifts. This is when parents usually seize the opportunity to hide them beneath the log’s cloak. Once the little ones return, the cloak covering his rear end is removed to reveal the gifts one by one until there are no more, at which point it’s not uncommon for the Caga Tió to produce an onion or cured herring.

Who needs Santa Claus when you have a Christmas pinata with a twist?

Sources used:

- The Local Spain: 'Meet the log that poops gifts at Christmas in Spain'

- The Culture Trip: 'Who Is Caga Tió, and Why Do Kids Beat Him Up?'