Our First Christmas In Barcelona: Caga Tió, The Christmas Pooping Log! (VIDEO)

One of the best surprises of moving to Barcelona has actually been getting to know some of the Gimme Some Oven readers that live here in Barcelona. Case in point — my new friend and long-time blog reader, Laura, who graciously agreed to come and help us with today’s new vid.

The first week that we moved here, Laura reached out over Instagram to welcome us to town and offer to help with anything we needed in the city. And through our texts, I quickly realized that she was an absolute gem. And me — being the American I am — asked if she might want to go grab a cup of coffee and hang out. And of course her — being the Catalan she is — suggested instead that we go grab chocolate and churros and hang out. Which was clearly the better idea. ?

So we did. And she was awesome. And in between bites of sugary churros dipped in the richest chocolate I’ve ever tasted (soooo rich, in fact, that you literally have to “thin it out” with a brick of whipped cream on top…which is a story for another day), we found ourselves talking about our plans for the holidays this year. Barc and I had already heard some about el Dia De Los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day or Epiphany), which is the main holiday celebrated in Spain on January 6. But I asked Laura if there were any traditions that also happened here on Christmas Day on December 25. To which she responded with this mischievous twinkle in her eye, “Well…you do know about Caga Tió, right?!”

We did not.

But oh boy, we are so glad that now we do. ? Because of all quirky gift-giving traditions on Christmas around the world — and let’s be honest, coming from a country celebrating a bearded dude from the North Pole who has reindeer drive him all over the world, keeping tabs on everyone’s behavior all year, breaking into houses and eating cookies and leaving presents under trees (and making me cry in my first Christmas photo) — we’ve gotta give Catalonia props. Because their infamous log that “poops” presents for all of the kids in Catalonia each Christmas is just about the best thing ever.

So for anyone else unfamiliar with this centuries-old Catalonian tradition, here’s the scoop. (He, literally. ?)

Be sure to check out our other videos about our first Christmas in Barcelona too, including:

Christmas Markets
Christmas Lights
(Two more coming soon!)

Also, big thanks again to Laura for helping us out with this video. Isn’t she the best?!