The caganer: Catalonia’s defecating nativity figure
Tucked behind the manger in traditional Catalan nativity scenes, almost hidden, is a little figurine with his trousers down, squatting. That’s the caganer — literally “the defecator” — and he’s been there since at least the 17th or 18th century Baroque period.
The classic figure is a Catalan peasant in a red b…
