Tió de Nadal, or Caga Tió, is a Christmas log native to Catalonia, but not just any log, but... a shitting one. These small logs, adorned with red caps, legs, and painted faces, are now sold at Catalan markets in the lead-up to Christmas, but in the past, they were made by hand. Why? Traditionally, on December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, every Catalan family would keep such a log in their home, feed it well, and cover it with a blanket to keep it warm overnight. Candies, nuts, dried fruit, and other treats were once placed in a special hole cut in the log; today, they are placed on a saucer in front of it. It was believed that if children took good care of the log, keeping it from getting hungry or cold, they would receive very good gifts for Christmas.

The culmination of the holiday is especially wild: on Christmas Eve, children beat a pooping log with sticks as hard as they can, singing songs. At this point, all the treats literally leap out of the log, which is where it got its offensive nickname. After the execution, the log is quickly burned...