In Catalonia St. George’s day coincides with the Feast of the Book and the Rose. On this day every man offers a rose to his loved one, and in return she gives him a book. The book is in memory of Cervantes. This custom started in 1926, to commemorate Cervantes’s death (author of “Don Quijote”).
Caga Tió, the pooping log, is a widespread Christmas tradition in Catalonia. It all starts with a hollowed out log, which is propped up on four little leg-like sticks and then painted to have a face. Every night, beginning December 8, Caga Tió is “fed” and covered with a blanket (so that he doesn’t catch a cold).
In many countries, a bogeyman-like creature is portrayed as a man with a sack on his back who carries naughty children away. In Catalonia “l’home del sac” is usually depicted as a mean and impossibly ugly and skinny old man who eats the misbehaving children he collects.
The Nose Man is a Catalan mythological character that has as many noses as days has the current year, and you can only see him on December 31. Children imagine a quirky character with 365 noses on his face, not thinking that December 31 is the last day of the year, therefore, that Nose Man has only one nose.
This is just a preview of the Catalan legends that students in 2nd grade have been working on. We will publish them very soon and will send them to our Turkish colleagues. 🙂
Get a look at the local legends we have chosen for our e-Twinning project “Tell me about Legends“. We are still working on them. Our final task will be published soon, be patient!