Christmas is Poop

In parts of Spain, it is customary to put a statue of a peasant squatting behind a rock with his rear-end exposed in the Nativity scenes.

Throughout Spain's northeastern Catalonia region, statuettes of "El Caganer," or "the great defecator," can be found in Christmas scenes, and increasingly on the mantelpieces of collectors, where for centuries symbols of defecation have played an important role in the season's festivities.

During the holidays, pastry shops around Catalonia sell sweets shaped like feces, and on Christmas Eve Catalan children beat a hollow log, called the tio, packed with holiday gifts, singing a song that urges it to poop presents out the other end.

These traditions, dating back as far as the 17th century, come from Catalonia's origins as an agrarian society where defecation was associated with fertility and health.

And you can buy figurines of famous poopers too.