CAGA TIÓ
A Catalan traditional song for Christmas
THE SONG
THE TRADITION
1) It's an easy song so it won't be difficult for you to learn its lyrics.
2) It's a very traditional song in our country and everybody in Catalonia knows it. A song that we sang for Christmas when we were children and we all remember this song with joy.
3) Also, we think that you would find this tradition funny.
In English we translate "Caga Tió" as Christmas Log. In Catalonia it is just known as Tió (trunk or log, a big piece of cut wood).
The tradition has centuries of history. At the beginning, it was linked with nature and fertility. Tió has its origin in the farms where it was seen as a meaning of wealth: an old log gives from inside sweets. After celebrating the feast, they burnt Tió and spread the ashes through the fields, around the house and above the bed as a symbol of good luck and fertility.
The beginning of the feast is on December 8 with Immaculate Conception: Tió appears in the house and one gives Tió a little bit to "eat" every night and usually covers him with a blanket so that he won't be cold. The story goes that in the days preceding Christmas, children must take good care of the log, keeping it warm and feeding it with fruit and some biscuits. This way, Tió will poop presents on Christmas Day.
On Christmas Day or, in some houses, on Christmas Eve, one prepares Tió and orders it to defecate. To make it defecate, children beat Tió with sticks while singing the traditional song that here we present you.
The tradition says that before beating Tió all children habe to leave the room and go to anotehr place of the house to pray or sing Christmas sons, askig for Tió to deliver a lot of presents.This makes the perfect excuse for parents or relatives to do the trick and put the presents under the blanket while the kids are praying.
Usually, Tió doesn't drop larger objects, as those are considered to be brought by the Three Wise Men. It does leave sweets, torrons (=nougats), clothes and small toys. It's typical that Tió leaves different presents as children sing many times. The last time that Tió drops something, it is often something to eat and share with all the family such as nougats and chocolates.
LYRICS OF THE SONG
CAGA TIÓ
Caga tió, d'avellanes i torró.
No caguis arengades,
que són massa salades!
Caga torrons,
que són més bons!
Caga tió
Avellanes i torrons
Si no vols cagar
et donaré un cop de bastó!
CAGA TIÓ!!!
»
TRANSLATION OF THE LYRICS INTO ENGLISH
Pooping log of Christmas
Pooping log of Christmas,
poop hazelnuts and nougats,
don’t poop herrings
as they are too salty!
Poop nougats
as they are tastier!
Pooping log of Christmas,
poop hazelnuts and nougats
and if you don't want to poop
I will hit you with the stick!
Poop log, poop!!!!
Old painting representing the tradition
Children doing CAGA TIÓ at school
A Tió being fed
SCORE OF THE SONG
Children learn to play it with a recorder when they are at primary school.