Starting December 8th, at the beginning of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Catalonia, the caga tio appears.
The Caga Tio (translated as "Shit Log") is given food and a blanket every night up to Christmas.
On Christmas Day, you order the little Tio to Shit! "To make him "shit", one beats him with sticks, while singing various songs of Tió de Nadal.
The tió does not drop larger objects, as those are brought by the Three Wise Men. It does leave candies, nuts and torrons. Depending on the part of Catalonia, it may also give out dried figs. When nothing is left to "shit", it drops a salt herring, a head of garlic, an onion or "urinates". What comes out of the tió is a communal rather than individual gift, shared by everyone present."
And I thought my lego advent calendar was cool!
"Shit, log, shit! If you don't shit well, we will whack you again!" Another goes "Log, log, shit candy! If you don't shit for Christmas, we will whack you once more!"
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