The Catalan-speaking world A traditional Catalan caganer from the front. Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official Language Grammar Phonology and orthography Institut d'Estudis Catalans Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua History History of Catalonia · Counts of Barcelona Crown of Aragon · Military history of Catalonia Catalan constitutions · Furs of Valencia Treaty of the Pyrenees · Nueva Planta decrees Geography Països Catalans Catalonia · Valencia · Balearic Islands Northern Catalonia · Franja de Ponent Andorra · L'Alguer · Carxe Government and Politics Generalitat de Catalunya Generalitat Valenciana Govern de les Illes Balears Consell General de les Valls (Andorra) Politics of Catalonia Catalan nationalism Traditions Castells · Correfoc · Falles · Sardana ·  Moros i cristians · Caganer · Tió de Nadal Botifarra · Barça · Paella · Rumba Myths and legends Arts Catalan literature · Antoni Gaudí · Modernisme La Renaixença · Noucentisme Salvador Dalí · Joan Miró · Antoni Tàpies This box: view • talk • edit

A traditional Catalan caganer from the back. Catalan grammar is the Grammar of the Catalan language. Morphology For general discussion of morphology (not specific to Catalan see main article The Phonology of Catalan, a Romance language, has a certain degree of dialectal variation This article covers the Orthography of Catalan, a Romance language. The Institut d'Estudis Catalans (Institute for Catalan Studies or IEC is an academic institution which seeks to undertake research and study into "all elements of Catalan culture The Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua ( AVL) - Valencian Academy of the Language - is an institution created on September 16, 1998 by the For other perspectives on the History of Catalonia, see also History of Europe; History of Spain; History of France; Crown of Aragon The Count of Barcelona was the major ruler in Catalonia from the 9th until the 17th century The Crown of Aragon was a permanent union of multiple titles and states in the hands of the King of Aragon. Origins The origins of the military force in Catalonia soar to the 13th century, with the Sagramental, the fraternity among several villages to guarantee their Origin The Corts of Barcelona The Catalan constitutions were promulgated by the Corts of Barcelona ( corts being the Catalan for courts Furs of Valencia ( Furs de València, in Valencian) were the laws of the Kingdom of Valencia during most of Middle Ages and The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed in 1659 to end the war between France and Spain that had begun in 1635 during the Thirty Years' War. The Nueva Planta decrees (Decretos de Nueva Planta were a number of Decrees signed between 1707 and 1716 by Philip V &mdashthe first Bourbon king of Different meanings Països Catalans is a polysemic expression and so it has different meanings depending on the context Catalonia (Cataluña Catalunya Aranese: Catalonha) is an Autonomous Community in the northeast part of Spain. The Valencian Community ( Valencian and official Comunitat Valenciana; Comunidad Valenciana is an Autonomous community located in central to The Balearic Islands ( Catalan and official Illes Balears; Spanish: Islas Baleares) are an Archipelago in the western Mediterranean The term La Franja ("The Strip" more properly Franja de Aragón or Franja de Poniente "Western Strip" in Spanish) Franja d'Aragó Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra ( Catalan: Principat d'Andorra) is a small Landlocked country in western Alghero ( l'Alguer in Catalan and S'Alighèra in Sardinian) is a town of about 42000 inhabitants (down from 54300 inhabitants since early El Carche ( el Carxe in Valencian) is a mountainous sparsely populated area in Murcia, Spain, lying between the municipalities Jumilla The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self government institutions under which the Spanish Autonomous community of Valencia is politically The Balearic Islands ( Catalan and official Illes Balears; Spanish: Islas Baleares) are an Archipelago in the western Mediterranean The General Council of the Valleys (in Catalan, Consell General de les Valls) is the Unicameral Parliament of Andorra. Catalonia is a Spanish Autonomous Community with a high-level of self-government Catalan Nationalism, or Catalanism (from Catalanisme in Catalan) is a political movement advocating for either further political A castell is a human tower traditionally built during festivals in many places in Catalonia, Spain. Correfocs are amongst the most striking of Catalonia 's festive events " Devils quot play with Fire and with the people The Falles (in Valencian) are a Valencian traditional celebration in praise of Saint Joseph in Valencia Spain. The sardana (Catalan plural sardanes) is a type of Circle dance typical of Catalonia. Moros y Cristianos (in Spanish) or Moros i Cristians (in Valencian) literally means Moors and Christians, and The Tió de Nadal (roughly "Christmas Log" also known as "Tió" (trunk or log a big piece of cut wood or "Tronca" ("log" Botifarra (butiˈfarə is the Catalan name for the Roman Sausage lucanica, made of raw pork and spicesthe recipe for which is still used today in Italy and other parts of the Fútbol Club Barcelona ( Catalan fudˈbɔɫ ˌklup bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish ˈfutβol ˌkluβ baɾθeˈlona known familiarly as Barça (Spanish ˈbaɾsa Catalan Paella (pa'eʎa is an internationally famous dish consisting of White rice, Meat, Seafood, Beans and Vegetables (depending on Catalan myths and legends are the traditional myths and Legends of the Catalan -speaking world especially Catalonia itself passed down for generations Catalan literature is the name conventionally used to refer to Literature written in the Catalan language. Catalan Modernisme (not to be confused with Modernism) was the Catalan equivalent to a number of fin-de-siècle movements such as Symbolism, The Renaixença (rənəˈʃɛnsə was an early 19th century late romantic revivalist movement in Catalan language and culture akin to the Noucentisme ( Noucentista being its adjective was a Catalan cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction against Modernisme Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech 1st Marquis of Púbol (May 11 1904 &ndash January 23 1989 was a Spanish Catalan Surrealist Joan Miró i Ferrà ( April 20, 1893 &ndash December 25, 1983) was an ethnic Catalan (of Spanish nationality Antoni Tàpies (born in Barcelona, December 13, 1923) is a Spanish Catalan painter

A Caganer (pronounced [kəɣəˈne]) is a little statue found in Catalonia, in neighbouring areas with Catalan culture such as Andorra, and in other parts of Spain, Portugal and Italy. The Principality of Catalonia ˈkætəˌloʊ̯nɪə (Principat de Catalunya Aranese: Principautat de Catalonha; Spanish: Principado de Cataluña Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra ( Catalan: Principat d'Andorra) is a small Landlocked country in western

The traditional Caganer

In Catalonia, as well as in the rest of Spain and in most of Italy and Southern France, traditional Christmas decorations consist of a large model of the city of Bethlehem, similar to the Nativity scenes of the English-speaking world but encompassing the entire city rather than just the typical manger scene. A nativity scene may be used to describe any depiction of the Nativity of Jesus in art, but in the sense covered here also called a crib or manger in the The caganer is a particular feature of modern Catalan nativity scenes, and is also found in other parts of Spain and southwestern Europe, including Salamanca^[1], Murcia (cagones), Naples (cacone or pastore che caca) and Portugal (cagöes)^[2]. Accompanying Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the Shepherds and company, the caganer is often tucked away in a corner of the model, typically nowhere near the manger scene. Joseph "of the House of David " ( Hebrew יוֹסֵף also known as Saint Joseph, Joseph the Betrothed, Joseph of Nazareth Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) A shepherd is a person who tends to feeds or guards Sheep, especially in flocks There is a good reason for his obscure position in the display, for "caganer" translates from Catalan to English as "pooper", and that is exactly what this little statue is doing — defecating. Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

Possible reasons for placing a man who is in the act of excreting waste in a scene which is widely considered holy include:

• Tradition. SACRED was a Cubesat built by the Student Satellite Program of the University of Arizona.
• Perceived humor.
• Finding the Caganer is a fun game, especially for children.
• The Caganer, by creating feces, is fertilizing the Earth. For soil improvement see Fertilization (soil. However, this is probably an a posteriori explanation, and few cite this reason for including the Caganer in the Nativity scene. "A priori" redirects here For other uses see A priori.
• The Caganer represents the equality of all people: regardless of status, race, or gender, everyone defecates.
• Increased naturalism of an otherwise archetypal (thus idealised) story, so that it is more believable, taken literally and seriously. Naturalism is a movement in Theatre, film, and Literature that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer

The exact origin of the Caganer is lost, but the tradition has existed since the 17th century. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar An Iberian votive deposit was found nearby Tornabous in the Urgell depicting a holy Iberian warrior defecating on his falcata. A votive deposit or votive offering is an object left in a Sacred place for Ritual purposes Modern-day Urgell is a comarca (county in Catalonia, Spain, forming only a portion of the region historically known as Urgell. The falcata is a type of Sword typical of Pre- Roman Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, modern Spain and Portugal) similar This started a short lived series of polemics between the Institut d'Estudis Catalans and the Departament d'Arqueologia in the Conselleria de Cultura of the Generalitat de Catalunya as to whether that can be regarded as a proto-caganer (which would draw the origins of this tradition far before than it is thought) or just a pre-combat ritual. The Institut d'Estudis Catalans (Institute for Catalan Studies or IEC is an academic institution which seeks to undertake research and study into "all elements of Catalan culture

Originally, the Caganer was portrayed as a Catalan peasant wearing a traditional hat called a barretina — a red stocking hat with a black band. A peasant is an agricultural worker who subsists by working a small plot of ground A barretina is a traditional Catalan hat that was frequently worn by men

The practice is tolerated by the local Catholic church. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". Caganers are easiest to find before Christmas in holiday markets, like the one in front of the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, which has tables and tables of caganers. The Cathedral of Santa Eulalia (also called La Seu) is the Gothic Cathedral seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain Caganers have even been featured in art exhibits.

The caganer is not the only defecating character in the Catalan Christmas tradition—another is the Tió de Nadal, which also makes extensive use of the image of human waste production. The Tió de Nadal (roughly "Christmas Log" also known as "Tió" (trunk or log a big piece of cut wood or "Tronca" ("log" Other mentions of feces and defecation are common in Catalan folklore, indeed, one popular Catalan phrase before eating says "menja bé, caga fort i no tinguis por a la mort!" (Eat well, poop strong and don't be afraid of death!).

The Caganer can also be found in other European cultures:

• In Dutch / Flemish : Kakkers / Schijterkes
• In French : Père la Colique
• In German : Choleramännchen or Hinterlader

The Caganer in the modern day

The Catalans have modified this tradition somewhat since the 1940s. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be In addition to the traditional caganer design, you can easily find other characters assuming the caganer position, such as nuns, devils, Santa Claus, celebrities, athletes, historical figures, politicians, Spanish royalty, and other famous people past and present, including Pope John Paul II, Salvador Dalí, prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Princess Letizia and even Osama bin Laden. A Nun is a Woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life The Devil is the Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply " Santa " is the Pope Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech 1st Marquis of Púbol (May 11 1904 &ndash January 23 1989 was a Spanish Catalan Surrealist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (born 4 August 1960 better known by his maternal surname Zapatero (literally "shoemaker" in Spanish is the current Letizia Princess of Asturias (Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano September 15 1972, Oviedo Spain) is the wife of Felipe, the Prince of Asturias Osama bin Laden, with some spelling variations is the name used in English to refer to (أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن born 10 March

In recent years a urinating statue, or Pixaner, has been added to the Christmas pantheon, but, unlike the Caganer, this addition should not be considered as an authentic tradition.

Sanitization

In 2005, the Barcelona city council provoked a public outcry by commissioning a nativity scene which did not include a Caganer. Many saw this as an attack on Catalan traditions. The local government countered these criticisms by claiming that the Caganer was not included because a recent by-law had made public defecation and urination illegal, meaning that the Caganer was now setting a bad example. ^[3] Following a campaign against this decision called Salvem el caganer (Save the caganer), and widespread media criticism, the 2006 nativity restored the Caganer, who appeared on the northern side of the nativity near a dry riverbed.

See also

• Mooning - the act of displaying one's bare buttocks
• Kakkers - The Flemish, Belgian variation of the Caganer
• Tió de Nadal

References

External links

• The caganer or shitter, nice character of Catalan tradition.
• Catalunya’s Christmas Caganer, from roughguides.com by AnneLise Sorensen, December 1, 2005.
• A Spanish Christmas and New Year, from Expatica, December 2004.
• Remains of the Spanish occupation of Flanders in the 16 th century ?, by Didier D'haese (Belgium), December 2004. ( Webpage in Dutch, French and English )
• WarmestGreetings.com A site where you can have El Caganer drop a present in a friend's name.
• Oreneta.com About defecation and caganers.