A Papal Caganer in the Nativity

My domestic  Nativity for 2015 is pretty inclusive. Garden gnomes, TV stars and statues of popular religion all get to come inside and bask in the 12 days of fame. You might wonder about the papal guest in the corner. 

Pope Benedict is now available in his retirement as a Caganer (Catalan pronunciation:[kəɣəˈne])  a small statue found in Catalonia, in neighbouring areas with Catalan culture such as Andorra, and in other parts of Spain, Portugal and Italy. The figure is depicted in the act of defecation. Caganer is Catalanfor "shitter".

The reasons for placing a man who is in the act of excreting solid waste from his posterior in a scene which is widely considered holy are as follows:

1. Just tradition.
2. Scatological humor.
3. Finding the Caganer is a fun game, especially for children.
4. The Caganer, by creating feces, is fertilizing the Earth. However, this is probably an a posteriori explanation, and nobody would say they put the Caganer on the Nativity scene for this reason.
5. The Caganer represents the equality of all people e.g. regardless of status, race, gender everyone defecates.

The article for the above quote also makes reference to the Catalan greeting before eating;  "menja be caga fort" (Eat well, shit strong).

Caganer a gift for Christmas, figures, crafts  Check out World Leaders Cajaners here. There is now a Pope Francis Caganer available so he may make an appearance in 2016!!