Last week I wrote about some of the incredibly gauche Hanukkah displays popping up, this week we take on the Nativity scene. But not just any Nativity Scene. You see the man on the right, just outside the manger? In Catalonia, he is known as The Caganer (in English, "The Pooper" or "The Shitter"). If you look even closer, you'll see the man's pants have been dropped and he is 'depositing his frankincense and mir' on the rock.
From what I've gathered on Wikipedia, the custom was started in Northern Spain by farmers as a way to celebrate not only the birth of the Saviour but also the rebirth of the soil, which needs fertilizer, which needs a man pooping in the yard.
If I wasn't so busy with work right now, I would book four tickets for my family to fly to Andora and travel around the countryside just to take in the various and colorful Caganer displays. My oldest daughter, a budding photographer, could take pictures of the Nativity Scenes and we could turn it all into a cool coffee table book.
Dear Random House....
Well, maybe next year.
You might be wondering what would it look like if The Caganer were not some decrepit old man, but someone more contemporary and famous. Oh I don't know, like our President...
OK, you might not be wondering that, but the good folks at caganer.com have.
2 comments:
You're making this up right? Are you kidding me? I had no idea! I am fixated on manger scenes because they were so forbidden to a Jewish child, but I loved miniatures!!! I have a portfolio of manger scenes! This is one of my faves: http://www.flickr.com/photos/enovember/3133913206/in/photostream/
and here is the whole portfolio: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=manger&w=69824295%40N00
You've inspired me once again Rich. December just got better. I'm off to find more Plastic Baby Jesuszzzzz.
just came back from barcelona. in the barria gotic there are several ornate churches with the requisite gift shops that the christian faith mandates. i demanded my wife and i go in to search for these 'poopers'. she thought i was crazy until lo and behold, there appeared a whole selection of caganers. you could get the pope pooping outside your nativity scene. our president and his russian counterpart we also available. but the best one was hello kitty. with a pile of pink poop.
you never know when christ will come, but i hope yesterday's burrito comes first.
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