Episode 6: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Christmas Symbols

From shroom loving shamans in Siberia to ancient Egypt, we’ll look at some of the tripped out origins of our most enduring Christmas symbols and traditions. Hang on to your Santa hats! There will be magic mushrooms, parties, gift giving, revolutions, children beating logs and characters taking a crap near the baby Jesus.

Fantastically Terrible Character or Creature

At the end of every episode, we like to highlight a Fantastically Terrible Character or Creature.

In keeping with the holidays, we’ll look at El Caganer from the Catalan region of Spain. When you look at a lovely nativity scene with Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherds, the three wise men…and a guy dropping a dookie in the stable…you’ve entered one of the strangest Christmas traditions of Catalunya. While most Christians venerate the miraculous birth of Christ, the Catalans show their unique sense of humor and remind us that everyone needs to relieve themselves when nature calls by adding a small figurine of a man dressed in traditional Catalan clothes with his pants down to his knees taking a dump in the nativity scene. Fathers tease their kids by moving the little bare assed character around the nativity scene for their kids to find. Ah, family fun at it’s best. Come on kids, it’s time to find the crapper! Between the Caga Tio and El Caganer, the Catalans definitely have a festive fixation with feces.