Studying plastic solar cells at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, learning languages at Agora, and exploring our surroundings. Stay tuned for details.
I would not normally be attracted to Christmas markets (shopping outside in the cold?!). The night before we left for Vienna we were watching the news in Spanish for practice and hearing about the crash in Berlin did not make them seem more attractive. Despite both those facts we ended up at Christmas markets several times, mostly because they were right by major buildings and also because they felt so festive. My friend pointed out that Vienna is really just a small town that no one would bother with. We noticed a light police presence at the city hall market, but that was it.
These are the decorations around our apartment building.
Imagine blinking lights in the tree on the right.
And that is it!!
Maybe everyone waits until Christmas eve? Maybe everyone decorates their apartment and not public spaces? Maybe only people in houses decorate? Maybe people don't have room to store decorations?
In the grocery store and on the outdoor public address system I mostly hear snippets of traditional American Christmas carols, although it is possible some songs are Spanish carols that are unfamiliar to me. Last week our Castilian learned a popular carol, although it didn't make much sense to me.
Los Peces en el Rio
Like many songs the literal translation does not work very well, but this poetic translation seems to capture the spirit.
As I passed through the square I could see people working with colored replica's of the monastery's rose window.
The next day the Christmas market tents were going up.
I could see that the rose windows were on the large tree,
but I have no idea what is in the big red bags.
This evening was the grand lighting of the tree
and the replica rose windows
that are near the monastery
and lining the pedestrian mall.
The booths were selling locally made art and lots of Christmas decorations.
My favorite nativity scene was in the stained glass showroom.
What would Christmas in Catalonia be without the caganer in the nativity scene? This is only one of two famous Catalonian Christmas traditions involving defecation.
You'll want to know more, I am sure. Below is someone else's post and I will copy it in its entirety because it explains both traditions
It's Christmas Eve, which means children across Spain's Catalan region are gathering in their homes for the traditional whacking of the festive shit log.
Tió de Nadal (Christmas log), a hollow log with stick legs, a smiley face, and a floppy red hat, is a yule branch with a scatological spin. (Its other name is Caga Tió, or "shit log," for reasons that will shortly become apparent.)
On December 8 each year — the Feast of the Immaculate Conception — families bring out the happy log. Every night until December 24, children are tasked with "feeding" the log by offering him nuts, dried fruit, and water. Kids must also cover Tió de Nadal with a blanket to ensure he stays warm and comfortable.
On Christmas Eve, it is time for the little shit log to shine. Children gather around the red-hatted branch and beat him with sticks while singing the traditional Tió de Nadal song:
Shit log,
Shit nougats,
Hazelnuts and mató cheese,
If you don't shit well,
I'll hit you with a stick,
Shit log!
Then comes the miracle: the kids look under Tió de Nadal's blanket and discover that the dear log has pooped out a pile of candies and presents. (The end of the defecation session is signaled by the presence of a stinky herring.) When everyone has collected their gifts from Tió de Nadal, the family burns him for warmth.
The poop log is not Catalonia's only defecation-based festive tradition. Take a close look at any nativity scene in the area and you'll spot Caganer, a porcelain man copping a squat in the presence of Mary, Joseph, and the Three Wise Men. Caganer is not meant to be sacreligious — his fertilization of the holy ground heralds a prosperous harvest in the new year.
