Caga Tió, the Catalan Christmas log

Feeding the Tió

The Casa Pairal museum in Perpignan describes the custom step by step. A nice log is chosen, given a face on one cut end, topped with a barretina (the red Catalan cap) and covered with a blanket. From the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, the family gives the Tió something to eat every day: biscuits, nuts, a bit of turrón. The blanket keeps him warm. He is, we think, the only one of Krampus's Kousins who is looked after more than he looks after anyone.

Christmas Eve: the song and the sticks

On Christmas Eve (or Christmas Day: Catalan broadcaster 3Cat says tradition allows either), the children beat the Tió with sticks and sing the traditional song, which begs him not to poo salty herrings but turrón, “which is nicer”. On the last “Caga, tió!” he gets a harder whack, then someone reaches under the blanket without lifting it and pulls out a gift, and the song starts again. Barcelona City Council says he gives sweets, turrón and toffees, and these days toys too; a naughty household might get coal. When he is empty he gives a salted herring, a head of garlic or an onion.

Where it comes from

The custom is found across Catalonia and in Aragon, Andorra and Occitania. The Tió was once a plain stump with no face; the log used to be burned between Christmas and New Year and its ashes spread on the fields, which the Casa Pairal says were meant to bring protection and plenty. The Tió's gifts are small and shared; the big presents come from the Three Kings on January 6.