Caga Tió moves into the Treehouse
Last weekend's guests at Fern Forest brought us the tradition of the Catalon Christmas pooping log. That’s right—a log that poops—presents. Ari, from Catalonia, and Juan, from Colombia, brought their daughters Maia and Mar for a second visit to the Treehouse, this time with åvia (grandmother) Anna visiting from Barcelona. On one of their three nights with us, they told us that Santa doesn’t bring children gifts in Catalonia. They get gifts from Caga Tió , the log with a smiling face and a red stocking cap. Beginning with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, children place a bit of food in front of Tió every night and cover him with a blanket to keep him warm. If they take good care of the log, it will poop gifts for them. The tradition goes that on Christmas Day the children leave the room to practice their Tió de Nadal songs and pray for presents. C hildren in Catalonia, it seems, are permitted free use of the