Home > Latin Culture > Spain > Spanish Fiestas > Tió Nadal

The Spanish autonomous community of Catalunya in the Costa Brava region (the northeast corner of Spain), has its own unique characteristics that set it apart from the rest of Spain. For starters, the community has its own official language (the Catalan), which officially shares with Spanish. Their own unique way of celebrating Christmas also sets them apart. There’s a Catalan Christmas tradition that consists in a harmless game for kids called “Tió de Nadal”. Tió, with the accent on the letter o, is Catalan for “burning log”, which should not be confused with the Spanish word Tío (uncle), with an accented letter i. Nadal is Catalan for “Christmas”, so the name for one of the oldest surviving tradition related to the propitiatory rituals of the winter solstice is “Christmas log”, or as it is colloquially known, “the eliminating log”.

The tió is a small wooded log with a caricatured friendly face with a wooden peg for a nose, 2 short sticks as front legs, a hollow “rear” and wears a traditional red wool peasant hat called a barretina. Only his face and legs are displayed, as he is always covered by a blanket that keeps him warm during the cold winter month. The tió visits all good Catalunyans' homes each Christmas season, as he is the main bearer of gifts. Some of these small gifts can be things such as nuts, candies, dried fruits and random items that can be enjoyed by everyone.

He is first seen in Catalan households eighteen days before December 25th, when parents of children under the age of 6 buy one in one of the many fairs or markets, who sell them in a variety of sizes. Some are available already set to be displayed; others are sold as a crafting activity for children to partake in the decoration of what seems to be some sort of Christmas pet. Tio’s purpose is to have minor “gifting accidents” over the course of the next few days and children delight upon seeing a daily Christmas gift surprise. The hefty sized gifts, however, are left to the Three Magi Kings (Tres Reyes Magos) to bring on January 6 as it is too much burden for the tió. Every night, the tió is fed a plate of oranges, dried fruit and random nuts. This allows the tió to get full as the days get nearer to Christmas, and it becomes evident to the kids because tió grows overnight – unbeknownst to them, the parents switch the log for a bigger one as the days go by.

On Christmas Eve, children warm up their stick by rubbing them with their little hands and while singing a song, they flog the log with the sticks asking it to give them presents. Some parents instruct the children to go to their rooms to play while the parents fill the hollowed out end of the log (the end hidden by the blanket) with small gifts and candies for the tió to “deliver” that night. Then it’s time for bed. When the children wake up, they are surprised to find the orange peels on the plate as proof that he is eating their offerings. The next morning, on Christmas day, the children wake up, head over to see the tió and remove the blanket to find candy and presents left by the tió. The tió might not deliver them at once… the children might need to eat breakfast or be entertained with the other gifts (in another room of course!) when the tió delivers another load. The children understand that no more gifts are to be delivered when the tió only leaves a sugar coal, garlic or a herring instead of presents.

Experience the tradition of the tió while studying Spanish in Catalunya’s Barcelona or in Costa Blanca’s Alicante.

delicious su Share
Studying Spanish Credentials don Quijote Spanish school is recognized and accredited by:
Web page created with the sponsorship of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce (Cámara de Comercio e Industria de Madrid)