That's so disturbing

So as a lot of you may know, Jake recently traveled to Barcelona, Spain for business. Lucky, huh? I know! He met the CEO and received an award from all the big-wigs. I am very proud... While he was there he attended meetings, saw some sights and experienced a lot of culture - including architecture, lengthy meals, Spanish sports jerseys, drinking water from a porron, and windsurfing (unknowingly on a nude beach!)

APPARENTLY, that was not all....

As I pulled out the Christmas decorations he had a small addition to make. Something he bought in Spain and has not 'revealed' until now.



NO, NOT THE NATIVITY SET. CAN YOU SEE IT? TO THE FAR LEFT....


CLOSER... DO YOU SEE THE RED DOT...


HERE HE IS! WHY IS HE IN THE NATIVITY???


AND WHY IS HIS BUM EXPOSED???!!!!!

At first glance I was very distraught, and found it to be very disrespectful. Jake had a great laugh, and then proceeded to explain that it was a tradition in Spain and is included in every nativity set in Catalan (Barcelona)! It is called a Caganer - Meaning "pooper" in the local language

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

* Tradition.
* Perceived humor.
* Finding the Caganer is a fun game for children
* The Caganer, by creating feces, is fertilizing the Earth. However, this is probably an a posteriori explanation, and few cite this reason for including the Caganer in the Nativity scene.
* The Caganer represents the equality of all people: regardless of status, race, or gender, everyone defecates.
* Increased naturalism of an otherwise archetypal (thus idealized) story, so that it is more believable - to be taken literally and seriously.
* The idea that God will manifest himself when he is ready, without regard for whether we human beings are ready or not.
* The caganer reinforces that the infant Jesus is God in human form, with all that being human implies.

The Bold Italicized reason is the one I find the most amusing.
I know... it is still disturbing. But there you have it. And there he sits in the background of our nativity. Weird.

If you are still completely horrified by this concept, I don't blame you. I can't get over it myself - But here is a site that expounds and explains upon the matter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caganer

And here is another weird tradition they have. A "pooping log" which they leave out food for so he will poop. (You know, kind of like leaving cookies out for Santa?) And then they proceed to beat the log? Well... you'll just have to read about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti%C3%B3_de_Nadal

http://www.lifeinbarcelona.com/blog/archive/christmas-crapper/


And that is all I have to share today, but stay tuned. You never know what will "pop out" of a Christmas Decoration box tomorrow!