The Weirdest Christmas Tradition: A Pooper In The Nativity Scene
Right in time for your holiday travels, the best gift anyone could receive, a brand new, two hour long episode of the Twisted History podcast. The entire crew is in studio to talk about historic figures / celebrities that passed away in the year 2023, Christmas disasters and catastrophes mixed in with our personal worst Christmas memories, strange holiday traditions, and what would a history podcast be without a dash of WWII sprinkled throughout?
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If you show my 3 year old niece a nativity scene, she points to baby Jesus and says, "Baby Yoda." She doesn't know anything, but neither do I. If you were to show me a Catalonia nativity scene and tell me to identify the Caganer, I'd probably point to a camel or one of the 3 wise men hopping you would go away and leave me alone, until now ...
The Caganer is a figurine found alongside Mary, Joseph, etc in a nativity, but The name El Caganer literally means the pooper. Traditionally, the figurine is depicted as a peasant, wearing the traditional Catalan red cap (the barretina) and with his trousers down, showing a bare backside, and defecating. This figurine taking a dump during baby Jesus' big moment is usually seen outside of Catalonia, in NorthEastern Spain, on the Mediterranean, right below France… It’s where Barcelona is and where Salvatore Dali was born. The Caganer is not a disrespectful character, he symbolizes good harvest, fortune, and fertility. Below is an example of a conquistador esque Caganer.
LLUIS GENE. Getty Images.It seems like 2023 was a big year for historic figures and celebrities crapping out and dying on us. College basketball lost an icon in Coach Robert Montgomery Knight a.k.a. The General. You could argue John Wooden or Coach K was the greatest coaches of all time, but when it comes to coaches getting the most out of nothing, Bobby Knight is the greatest coach in the history of college basketball. I blogged about him when he passed, but we also talk about his importance to the game of basketball and how it was sad to see the controversial coach go …
A historic figure we weren't sad to see go in 2023, and can all agree was a reeeeeeal piece of shit, war criminal, and all around bad guy was former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger. Kissinger was a real scrooge, even though he tried to get into the giving spirit during the holidays when he dropped 20,000 tons of bombs during Christmas Day on the men, women, and children of Cambodia. Truly a fascinating character in history that we take a deep dive on during the episode. You can't mention history of the 60's and 70's without bring up Henry Alfred Kissinger.
Bettmann. Getty Images.Kissinger was responsible for one of the worst Christmas tragedies of all time with the Christmas Day Bombings of Cambodia, which make our personal worst Christmas stories seem like small potatoes. But, I promise the stories of Large, Anne, John, and myself bring up as our personal worst Christmas stories have a tad more humor and comedy in them than anything Henry Kissinger ever did. Find out for yourself on the newest episode of Twisted History …
Don't forget to check out our entire catalogue of evergreen history episodes. Perfect for long car rides and blocking out the sound of family members.