Original in Catalan: El caga tió
In Catalonia, at Christmas, the presents are brought by a log. By pooping them.
The tió is a piece of log with a smiling face, a barretina and a little blanket so it doesn’t get cold. From the Immaculate Conception, 8 December, it’s looked after and fed every night. And on Christmas Eve (or Christmas Day, depending on the family), the children beat it with sticks while singing so that it will “poop”: turrón, sweets, presents. The most widespread song makes it clear: poop turrón, don’t poop herrings, they’re too salty.
It’s not only ours: Aragon has the tronca or tizón de Nadal, and Occitania the cachafuòc. The log used to be burned in the hearth; not anymore. Its root, they say, is a solstice festival so that nature wouldn’t lose its fertility over the winter, although that’s more interpretation than documented history.
Think about it: the only Christmas tradition where children wait for someone to poop. Eagerly.
Christmas cousin: the caganer.
https://www.totrubi.cat/actualitat/societat/historia-canco-tio-nadal_2176742102.html