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[guillemelgat]

GUILLEMELGAT’S CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD | Catalunya (Catalonia)

A stall at Santa Llúcia’s Fair in Barcelona (source). The Fira de Santa Llúcia is a Christmas fair set up around the Barcelona Cathedral, starting in late November and ending right before Christmas. Vendors sell Christmas decorations of all kinds, as well as other crafts. The oldest reference to the fair is almost 300 years ago, making it a very long-running tradition.

A traditional Nativity scene at a shop in San Cugat (source). Like many of the other Christmas traditions we’ll look at, Catalans enjoy making large and detailed Nativity dioramas, often taking up entire displays in shop windows or in homes. It’s also common to go around and look at neighbors’ scenes, especially with all the hidden figures in each!

The traditional caganer figurine (source). One of the most (in)famous figures in the Catalan Nativity scene, the caganer (’pooper’) is traditionally tucked away in a corner for viewers to try to find. Traditional caganers are made to look like a Catalan peasant man, in farmer’s clothes and a red barretina hat. In recent years, however, caganers of public figures such as politicians or celebrities have become very popular as well.

A plate of Christmas stew (source). The traditional first dish of the Christmas meal in Catalonia is escudella de Nadal, a hearty soup made of large shell pasta (galets) with a meatball filling.

The Sybil’s Chant being performed in Mallorca (source). Sung at the midnight mass on Christmas Eve, this haunting Gregorian Chant was traditionally performed all across Southern Europe before being pushed away by the Church in the 16th century. The tradition only remained in Mallorca and Alguer (Sardinia), and in the late 20th century it began to be revived in Catalonia and the Valencian Country as well. Historically a young boy performed as the sybil, dressed in luxurious clothes and carrying a sword in front of them; now, it is also performed by girls as well as adults (the singer Maria del Mar Bonet in particular is known for her version).

A stall selling Christmas logs (source). A key part of Catalan Christmas celebrations is the Tió de Nadal, a log which is usually decorated with a cartoonish painted face, two legs to prop it up, and a barretina hat. The log is brought out in early December, and children feed it every day and cover it with a blanket to keep it warm. Then, on Christmas, all the children in the house take turns hitting the tió with sticks while singing a song to make it “shit” presents. Typically, these are sweets to be shared or other small gifts; larger presents are given on Three Kings’ Day.

A plate of neules, traditional Catalan Christmas cookies (source). After Christmas dinner, one of the traditional desserts in Catalonia are neules, thin, rolled-up wafer cookies, usually eaten dipped in cava (Catalan sparkling wine). The other common dessert is a type of nougat-based sweet called torró.

The St. Stephen’s Day concert at the Palau de la Música Catalana (source). The Orfeó Català, resident choir at the Palau de la Música Catalana, hosts a concert every year on the day after Christmas. The music selection typically includes tradtional Christmas carols, classical pieces, and new works for the occasion. It usually fills the entire concert hall, and is also broadcast on public television.

A plate of canelons, typically eaten on St. Stephen’s Day (source). The day after Christmas, the traditional meal is canelons, made from meat or fish rolled in sheets of pasta and covered with cheese. The filling is usually leftovers from Christmas dinner, and the tradition arose as a way to make use of them.