Pooping peasant (in Nativity scene) popular in Spain

[TechBear_Seattle]

I couldn't make this shi... uh, crap up! :rofl:

Reprinted in full from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061221/ap_on_fe_st/pooping_peasant

Pooping peasant popular in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain - The Virgin Mary. The three kings. A few wayward sheep. These are the figures one expects to find in a traditional Christmas nativity scene. Not a smartly dressed peasant squatting behind a rock with his rear-end exposed.

Yet statuettes of "El Caganer," or the great defecator in the Catalan language, can be found in nativity scenes, and increasingly on the mantelpieces of collectors, throughout Spain's northeastern Catalonia region, where for centuries symbols of defecation have played an important role in Christmas festivities.

During the holiday season, pastry shops around Catalonia sell sweets shaped like feces, and on Christmas Eve Catalan children beat a hollow log, called the tio, packed with holiday gifts, singing a song that urges it to defecate presents out the other end.

These traditions, in the case of the caganer dating back as far as the 17th century, come from an agricultural society where defecation was associated with fertility and health.

While the traditional caganer is a red-capped peasant, more modern renditions have gained popularity in recent years.

[hobbit709]

1. Whoopi was right

"You can't make this shit up":rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[BurtWorm]

2. Think I'll pass on the Yule log this year.

:puke:

[jgraz]

3. Pic!

[TahitiNut]

10. For folks with a color printer ...

[jgraz]

12. Awesome -- I was wondering how I was gonna decorate this year

Next year? A huge lighted Crapper on my roof!

[Warren DeMontague]

32. He looks like Bill O'Reilly.

Coincidence?

I THINK NOT.

[MADem]

4. The political figures, well, those aren't surprising--but the pooping Pope one is a bit of a shock!

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. Where did you find that? n/t

[MADem]

28. In the slideshow to the left of the original story NT

[jgraz]

14. Totally! I thought they weren't allowed to take a dump once they took office.

OK...one more time: The BEAR shits in the woods, the POPE is Catholic. Try to keep it straight.

;)

[MADem]

29. Heh heh....I forgot about those pearls of wisdom, but they do apply! NT

[Quantess]

31. I love how his hands are folded in prayer

as he poops! :rofl:

Who among us has not done that?

[MADem]

33. Well, ya get to a certain age, and prayer accompanies a lot of ordinary 'duties'

...even doodies!!!

[phaseolus]

5. So this is why Salvador Dali used to talk about...

... getting paid in a "fluid diarrhea of checks". There's a cultural context behind that ... and here I just thought he was being a weirdo. :P

[teenagebambam]

7. I TOLD you Mr. Hanky was real!!!

[musette_sf]

8. "El Caganer"

another new name for Georgie Butch!

[jgraz]

13. Sorry, Georgie is what El Caganer is producing

[TahitiNut]

9. Andorra even has "El Caganer" on a stamp. (For Christmas cards?)

[Richard D]

11. The devil made me do it

[Jeffersons Ghost]

15. Instead of offering unsubstatiated rhetoric that might be offensive to others...

Why not honor any Pagans that read DU on this Holy Day so close to Solstice. Solstice represents a truly rich tradition dating into distant pre-history. Solstice, also known as Yule, is a day of renewal and rebirth in many Pagan belief systems.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. When any "unsubstatiated rhetoric that might be offensive to others"

comes along, you'll be sure to let us know, won't you?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

21. I await links to substantiate the OP but since you respond to my post...

Why not at least make mention of some positive Pagan traditions, instead of working toward deeper divisiveness. Do you not feel those comments "might be offensive" to people that celebrate Christmas by putting out their humble plastic Nativity Scenes, all across America?

While Paganism represents a wide array of beliefs and practices, here is one Pagan approach to the Holiday:

Paganism Explained: Winter Solstice
Hebden Bridge Pagan John The Wiz takes a look at the Winter Solstice - otherwise known as Yule!

For Pagans this is a very joyous time, full of light and the celebration of the rebirth of the Sun God. We have our festival and rituals on the Solstice, which shifts from year to year, from the 20th to the 23rd of December, depending on what the Sun is up to. At the Solstice, the Sun, or God, which has been lost in the stasis of death, reaches a state of re-birth and, out of the darkness and the belly of the Mother Goddess, comes back into the skies again.
The Yule Candle is an important symbol:
Yule: 'A joyous time, full of light'

Historically this was a convenient Pagan Festival to use when Christianity was first introduced to the western world and the 'birth' aspect was retained. In many ways this might have been done to align the two faiths and allow an easier transition which might explain why Pagan beliefs still survive today.

Indeed, in our rites we celebrate the Goddess as being the bringer of life or Mother, and the protector of the young Sun God.

here is the type of "substantiation" that my earlier post mentions:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/content/articles/2005/12/20/paganism_yule_winter_solstice_feature.shtml

[TechBear_Seattle]

25. My OP had nothing at all to do with the solstice.

Unless, for some reason, the people of Catalonia set up nativity scenes in honor of Yule and not Christmas.

Perhaps you are trying to tell us, in a very passive/agressive fashion, that you will not tolerate mention of Christmas?

[MADem]

30. Pssst, call it "Navidad" and the anti-Christmas contingent might not notice! NT

[muriel_volestrangler]

27. Why not mention positive Hindu references too?

And throw in some positive Buddhist ones, too? Why not mention the price of fish?

Because the OP was about a feature of Catalan nativity scenes that other nativity scenes don't have, that's why. Pagan celebrations, or anything else, are irrelevant.

Why it is "substantiation" when you post an article, but not when TechBear_Seattle posts one?

No, I don't think the OP would be offensive to people that celebrate Christmas. I don't think Associated Press or Yahoo think it would be, either, or they wouldn't have posted it on the net.

[MADem]

35. If you want to talk about that, why don't you start a thread on the topic?

Rather than poop on a lighthearted thread about an amusing tradition in Spain/Catalan/Italy?

[TechBear_Seattle]

18. What in the OP is "unsubstantiated rhetoric"?

I referenced a Reuters news article presented via Yahoo's news gateway. A simple google for "El Caganer" will return thousands of hit, most of them in Spanish and most of them referring to the cultural symbol mentioned above. A search through even a modest library with books on Spanish or Catalan culture will reveal books mentioning El Caganer and most shops in Catalonia have a wide variety of these characters for sale, always within the context of other Nativity scene figures.

How, pray tell, does all of this make for "unsubstantiated rhetoric?" Or is it just that, since you find it offensive, it must be untrue?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

22. I personally do not find it offensive, nor did I say that... can you read back more carefully?

[TechBear_Seattle]

24. You didn't answer why the news article was "unsubstantiated rhetoric"

Can you explain your comments? Or shall I be forced to make more guesses as to your motivation for posting to this thread?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

26. guess all you like while still not "substantiating" the OP with any link...

With your profound grasp of Spanish culture and those things "popular in Spain" perhaps you will offer a translation of one of the many links in Spanish you refer to off-handedly, in an earlier post. With such rampant popularity, one might wonder why no sites in English mention this phenomenon.

[MADem]

34. I don't get what you are griping about. The story is in English, from Yahoo.

Is this really the forum for griping about another post, in another thread? Why are you being so shirty about this matter?

I find it to be an amusing cultural lesson:

The exact origin of the Caganer is lost, but the tradition has existed since the 17th century.<1> Originally, the Caganer was portrayed as a Catalan peasant wearing a traditional hat called a barretina — a red stocking hat with a black band.

The Catalans have modified this tradition somewhat since the 1940s. In addition to the traditional caganer design, you can easily find other characters assuming the caganer position, such as nuns, devils, Santa Claus, celebrities, athletes, historical figures, politicians, Spanish royalty, and other famous people past and present, including Pope John Paul II, Salvador Dalí, prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Princess Letizia and even Osama bin Laden.

The practice is tolerated by the local Catholic church. Caganers are easiest to find before Christmas in holiday markets, like the one in front of the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, which has tables and tables of caganers. Caganers have even been featured in art exhibits.

The caganer is not the only defecating character in the Catalan Christmas tradition—another is the Tió de Nadal, which also makes extensive use of the image of human waste production. Other mentions of feces and defecation are common in Catalan folklore. One popular Catalan phrase before eating says "menja bé, caga fort!" (Eat well, shit strong!).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caganer

[Javaman]

17. "traditional caganer is a red-capped peasant" aka

Senior Ding-Dungo!!!

Where ever this is a toilet seat available, where ever there is an open latrine, you will find Ding-Dungo, squatting with all his might!

Slower than molasses, mightier than ex-lax, able to poop standing up, Ding-Dungo is on the scene!

A woman stands struggling in quicksand...

Woman: Help me Ding-Dungo!!!

Ding-Dungo (offscreen): I'll be right...ahhhhh...there!!!

Tune into the next exciting episode of Senior Ding-Dungo when he helps get a cat out of a tree...

Woman: oh Ding-Dungo, I'm so glad you are here, you must get my feline out of the tree!!!

Ding-Dungo: Feline? I thought you said...Feses....

Wa wa waaaaaaaaaa...

[Retrograde]

19. European culture is so much more refined

than ours, or so I've been told.

[TechBear_Seattle]

20. Between El Caganer and American style Hell Houses....

I think I'd rather have the pooping peasant.

[minerva50]

23. That's a phrygian cap those peasants are wearing.

It's usually associated with the French revolution, a "liberty cap" worn by freed slaves during the Roman empire. But it has also been associated with the three wise men, thought to have come from Persia, or modern-day Iran. It also has associations with Mithraism, where many of our Christmas stories came from.

[ellisonz]

36. I can do you one better...

...and unfortunately I can't find a validating link, but I am well schooled in my ancient history.

The red cap actually dates back to at least 750 BC in the Peloponnesus. Along with poor quality clothing, helots, similar to serfs, commonly wore them, which was neccessary considering the Spartans were enslaving fellow Greeks, mostly Messenians. Unfortunately, we have very few sources on helots, but we have recovered, and I'm not surprised I can't find an image, a figurine from the Sparta area of a helot wearing a very similar red cap. So I'm going to posit the red bulbous cap as originating as a class designator at Sparta.