A Well Kept Man

Booths had basically one of about five or six things. The first was the Nativity setting and associated paraphernalia. Trees, straw, moss, pebbles, mangers, huts, coves, caves, palaces, and saw dust filled about 10% of the stalls. I was impressed by the variety and creativity of birth-scenes for Jesus. The next booths contained every imaginable size, shape, and look of Nativity figures. The biggest were probably around the size of a Barbie doll, the smallest were around the size of your thumb (if your thumb is about two inches long). These booths represented closer to 25-40% of the stalls. The stalls containing live trees, mistletoe, and holly decorations represented another 10% or so (we are now up to 45-60% of the marketplace so far). About 15% had other Christmas decorations of the commercial variety (Santa Claus stuff, red bows, lights, tinsel, ornaments, etc.). The remaining stalls were dedicated to very Catalan items.

I suppose every culture and region of the world has their own Christmas traditions, mostly revolving around the same central theme of either Santa Claus or the Baby Jesus. Barcelonians (I think I just made up a word) have two very unique traditions. They are related, although they are different. The first will be described here, the second will be described in a future posting. In the Nativity scenes of those who describe themselves as Barcelonians or Catalan, there exists a curious figure known as the Caganer. I will not translate this word as it is a PG-13 word, but for the sake of information I shall indicate that it is a figure that represents fertility and equality. Loosely translated it means the defecator. As you can see from the picture (above left) you can see that it is aptly named (although I have chosen not to show an extreme closeup, even though it may produce some teenage giggles. Feel free to do an internet search for this item, although I claim no responsibility for the content you may find). Catalans hide one of these somewhere in their Nativity scenes and children apparently enjoy trying to find it. Truly an interesting custom.  My favorite is either the Barack Obama caganer or the Smurf ones...tough choice.

I would rate this Christmas Market as a very strong 8.5 out of 10. It does lose a little bit for the lack of food related Christmas cheer (e.g. no mulled wine nor cinnamon toasted almonds, nor Spanish-related Christmas foods) and for the constant feeling that someone is going to try and pick your pocket. The crowds were very intense and one couldn't really walk, it was more of a shuffle. Either way, I would recommend a visit to Barcelona's Fira de Santa Llúcia if you happen to be in the area around Christmas time. The various plazas around the city also have Nativity scenes set up, and there are many lights and decorations which give the city a definite Christmas feel.