Much was as expected – Mary, Joseph and a few shepherds (one with a real cat sitting on his head which was quite funny…
And then we saw this and Ian said – “that looks like that man’s…”
And Ian was quite right – this was a man er pooping.
This was a bit of shock/surprise to us – however the pooping man has quite a long and interesting history:
While the most defining quality of the caganer—which literally means ‘pooper’ —is without a doubt the very natural task to which he devotes himself, there is no clear opinion on what the meaning of his action is. There are a number of plausible accounts of the significance of the caganer which are held with equal conviction by historians in the region.
One theory goes that the caganer simply represents fertility and the fertilization of the earth which yields food for us to eat. On this account, it’s a symbol of good luck and the wish for a prosperous new year and good health. Another explanation for why the figure appears in local nativity scenes is that he is said to represent the mischief and evil that is in all of us. Rather than denying or rejecting this natural disposition, the caganer is a way of accepting what each of us has in common. This view is echoed by some who see him as the contrast to the purity and good which appears in the rest of the nativity, adding a touch of balance to the whole.
So that was a surpise!
Cloudy Wine
We bought a bottle of local wine and were a bit disappointed to find it was very cloudy. Given it was only a euro, we didn’t have high expectations, but thought it probably wouldn’t be drinkable and made a note not to buy it again. However, when Ian was looked the name of the wine up on the Internet, he saw that it is a famous local wine – and famous for it’s cloudiness. Good job we didn’t take it back and complain!
