Original in Catalan: El caganer
In the Catalan nativity scene, among shepherds, oxen and the Three Kings, there’s a man squatting and relieving himself. And he isn’t hiding there by mistake.
He’s the caganer. The first documented ones date from the late 17th and early 18th centuries, in full Baroque, when nativity scenes wanted to be so realistic that they filled up with everyday scenes (which had already been appearing on decorative tiles for centuries). The classic one wears a sash, a barretina and a pipe.
Why is he there? Poo fertilises the soil, so the caganer is said to bring luck and plenty for the coming year. He’s often read as a leftover of ancient fertility rites, but that’s more an interpretation than a documented fact.
Today there’s one of everyone: Messi, Merkel, Putin, Mandela, Trump… Being made into a caganer is almost an honour.
Christmas cousin: the tió. Christmas in Catalonia has very clear ideas about poo.
https://www.sapiens.cat/revista/sapiens-62/per-que-posem-el-caganer-al-pessebre_13104_102.html