And you thought your family had weird Christmas traditions

Tio de Nadal – the ‘Pooping Log’ from Catalan, Spain. (Wikipedia)

While manger scenes, Father Christmas and his band of merry elves and reindeers are still top of the crop this festive season in South Africa, there are some very bizarre Christmas traditions taking place around the globe.

Take for instance the belief in Austria and other parts of Europe that a ghoulish creature called ‘Krampus’ the evil accomplice of St Nicholas is said to wander the streets looking for badly behaved children.

Krampus – the half human, half goat from Germany (Pixabay)

During December some people don terrifying Krampus masks and roam the streets scaring children and adults alike with pranks.

Or what about the ‘Poop log’ from Catalonia, Spain which is right up there in the list of bizarre festive season traditions. The Poop log or Tió de Nadal is made from a hollow log, with stick legs, a smile and a red hat.

Children feed the log every evening between December 8 and Christmas eve with small treats and leave it under a blanket to sleep.

Now, this is where things become somewhat different. On Christmas eve children beat the log with sticks while singing the traditional ‘Caga Tio” song which encourages the log to ‘poop’ out presents and candy. The log once properly beaten and serenaded and having pooped out its presents and candy is then considered useless and thrown in the fire.

Last but not least you have the Swedish Yule Goat which dates back to around the 11th century where it was believed a man-sized goat figure, led by Saint Nicholas, had the power to control the devil.

In the 17th century, it was popular for young men to dress as the goat creature and run around pulling pranks and demanding gifts. By the 19th century, the man-goat became a giver of gifts and replaced Father Christmas as the men in the family dressed up as the goat and dished out presents to the family.

Today the Yule Goat has replaced the man-goat in Swedish tradition and giant versions are created out of straw and red ribbons, which have become easy prey for pranksters to set on fire each year. So much so that bookmakers have begun taking bets for the survival of a 13-metre tall goat figure that was erected in the town square of Garvle.