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Among the most Dickensian dreams of any child or adult who is completely reluctant to mature is to
celebrate Christmas
all year long. May the illusion that lighting, ornaments and even decorated fir trees exert on us extend 365 days a day and not be concentrated on a few, usually when it is very cold and it is always difficult to go outside. Of course, we must also take into account, as inhabitants of the northern hemisphere, that we associate the Christmas holidays with coats, frozen streets and, very occasionally, snow.
However, if you want to regain that childhood illusion for Christmas now you don't have to wait for mid-December.
It is enough to travel to
Baños Nuevos street,
in the heart of Barcelona, where all year round we can discover shops that sell typical Christmas products.
In 2019, the German company
Käthe Wohlfahrt
decided to locate its first store in Spain in this area.
It is a place decorated as if it were a Christmas village, with a four-and-a-half-meter tree inside, and an infinity of
artisan decoration
made by hand in glass and wood, such as the usual garlands, snowballs, typical decorated nutcrackers, music boxes or incense smokers, among others.
The new Caganer.com store in the center of Barcelona.
But as there are also typical Catalan products related to Christmas and that have projection to be international, a few days ago an
exclusive
caganers
store
opened a few days
ago
, the traditional figure of the nativity scene in Catalonia that it represents, in the most irreverent way possible. , to a pastor relieving himself in a place that pretends to be a popular and religious representation.
Even its placement must be accompanied by a special liturgy since it must be located with the buttocks, in the air, in the
direction of the portal.
This figure has appeared in Catalan nativity scenes since the 18th century since people believed that it gave
luck and health
to those who put it, in addition to symbolically paying the land of the manger to bring prosperity and guarantee to put it back the following year. .
Beyond the nativity scene
Over time the
caganer
has become much more.
"It is a figure that has become independent from the place where it was born", explains
Marc Alós,
one of the owners together with his brother Sergi of Caganer.com, the company specialized in making this type of figures that comes from the traditional Catalan nativity scene.
Now they have opened their first store in Barcelona and sell, exclusively, representations of this figure.
The company has
530
different
models
, of sizes and shapes, ranging from the usual
Catalan pages with barretina
to trades or hobbies of all kinds, including
toilets with a mask,
through famous people such as
Barack Obama,
Donald Trump,
Leo Messi ,
Fernando Simón or
Rosalía
, among many others.
Another corner of the shop window, with chocolate caganers.
Every year this company from Gerona makes a
new
caganer
of a
public
figure
who appeared a lot in the media during that year. It is a way of connecting tradition with today. Thus, this figure transcends its location in the nativity scene and becomes an object of decoration or collection. "There are those who
put them in the bathroom
to be accompanied when they have to go or they put them in the living room to give luck, like those who wear a football club kit," says Alós, in addition to adding that many people go to buy them to give them away. .
"It is one of the few products that are bought laughing, you know that you will give it to someone who will
be amused,
" he highlights and adds that the store aims to be a
space for dissemination
of this figure.
That is why it is possible to see some centenarians as well as the molds for their artisanal elaboration, the utensils used and their history.
"They are figures
made by ourselves
, painted here at home and with local products. We are very careful and we seek that the pieces have, every time, more quality", point out the owners of this company that has been operating for more than 30 years, although so far they have not taken the step of having a physical store.
Revitalize the center of Barcelona
Alós indicates that they tried in 2016 but that then the high rents and transfers in the center of Barcelona made them give up their idea. It was not until last Christmas, when as every year they took their product to the Santa Llúcia Fair, a specialist in Christmas items and located in the Cathedral, when they walked through the
Gothic Quarter
and discovered the ravages of the health pandemic in this area, with numerous closed premises. Rents had dropped by 50% and it was "now or never," says Alós.
Entrepreneurs know that it is a neighborhood that is highly visited by tourists and they do not doubt that they will return in the coming months once the
health crisis
situation is overcome
and the restrictions imposed are relaxed.
"The
caganer
is not just a Christmas figure. Little by little we are turning it into a piece that the tourist can wear throughout the year, as a
souvenir of Catalonia,
" they point out, since their intention is to de-seasonalize this figure so that it
can be worn throughout the year.
turn into a product to buy even in summer clothes.
SHUTTERSTOCK
The initiative of these entrepreneurs is also supported by an increase in the area of artisans of all kinds of products, whether textiles or food. The drop in the price of rents has allowed the streets around the Generalitat and the Cathedral, known as the
Jewish quarter, to
appear numerous
artisans
who promote quality commerce. One more claim for the city center, which needs to be revitalized in the face of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
In this way, Barcelona has an area where it is Christmas every day.
Not only for the sale of specific products about this time of year but also for being able to find quality artisan products to give as gifts.
Deep down, what has made us most excited about the Christmas season is
receiving gifts.
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