El Tió, A Catalan Christmas Tradition

El Tió de Nadal. Boulder, Colorado, 2015

It sort of loses something in translation, but:

There are even much longer versions of the verse.

You repeat this little ditty as you tap the log mock-threateningly with a stick…then a gift for you magically appears from under the log! Kids love it, of course. and it’s one of the Catalan traditions this 25th of December.

(For another interesting tradition, check out the “caganer”–or, “shitter”–you’ll find in nearly every Catalan Nativity scene. There is symbolism and deeper meaning involved here, as well as the obvious humor–check the link. Kids love to spot the caganer (pronounced kah-gaw-NAY) hidden somewhere in each Nativity display they come across.)

Hope you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Festivus, or whatever it is you might celebrate.

[NOTE: Those with some knowledge of Spanish/Castellano may be tempted to translate “Tió” as “uncle”, but that is incorrect. Tió is a Catalan word meaning “large branch” or “trunk” or “log”. Note the accent symbol is over the letter “o”. Tío is the very different word you are thinking of in Spanish/Castellano which means “uncle”.]