El Caganer: Busting grumpies old school!

Traditional Caganer

You may have learned about El Caganer (“the great pooper”) from cool books like this one. Statues of the Great Pooper are common in the Spanish region of Catalonia. The idea was that El Caganer's excellent poop would give farmers good crops!

Why is his poop yellow?

While this may seem odd, the statues date back to the 1600s and are considered symbols of good health. Hey, the Spanish don’t have prissy poop hangups! And that's why they have modern versions of El Caganer, like SpongeBob Squarepants! 

"I have no fear of death...
it's BULLS I'm afraid of!"

Before eating, Catalans sometimes say, “Menjar bé, i caga fort, i no tinguess por de la mort!”

That means, “Eat well, poop strong, and you will have no fear of death!”  (And THAT might remind you of what the Italians say.) 

"Yes, my poop is red."

In the Christmas season, kids play a “Where's-Waldo” game with El Caganer. That’s because the pooping statue is hidden in the Nativity! (Also known as the manger scene.) As a symbol of respect, the pooper is usually located at some distance from the manger’s holy characters. I mean, how weird would it be to see Spiderman IN the manger?

If you’re interested, Caganer.com offers MANY El Caganer figurines, all of them assuming the position.