Easter Monday the day of ”LA MONA”!!

As a nice tradition here on Easter Monday all families go out

into the countryside and have a picnic with paella and dance

”Sardanes”, the Catalan folklore dance.



The ”Mona” is a cake decorated with feathers and eggs and it

can also contain figures in chocolate.

“Munna” is an Arabic word that means "provision of the mouth,"

that the Moors gave as a gift to their master. Here it is a tradition

that the Godmother and the Godfather give a Mona to their

Godchildren on Easter Sunday. And if you don´t eat a Mona,

it seems that there is no Easter!!

Here in Torredembarrra we went up in the hills to Montornès, near a small village called

La Pobla de Montornès. There is a church on the top called l´ermita de Santa Maria de

Montornès.



We went there with 3 cars loaded with food and drinks and chairs

and 10 happy people. Frank and I, our cousin Antonieta, Anette

and Birgitta, Lena and family Maude and Arne and Kurt and Åsa.

So 8 Swedes and 2 Catalans. We were not the only ones with this

idea. Lots and lots of people kept coming with grandmothers, children,

oncles and teenagers, all carrying bags with food, wine, Coca Cola

and, of course, the most important of all: the Mona cake!!

The weather was lovely and warm and we gathered just under the church

and waited for the Mass to finish. The door of the church stood open and

the congregation was singing loud and clear and the song was mixed

with birds singing outside and children playing.

In the meantime we all sat down on the steps outside the church and the
special Sardanes orchestra (cobla) arrived.

The Mass was over and the orchestra began to play and immediatly several

persons began to dance the typical Catalan dance ”Sardana”.

Very popular and everybody can join. It reminds me a lot of the Greek

dances. One forms a ring and dance with the arms in the air holding

hands.

Our cousin Antonieta and Frank were dancing and eventually I dared

to go up and try. I need some training! Here you can see Frank in action:

A little man was dressed with the typical "barretina" in the head and had a branch of thyme in his mouth. He danced ALL dances!

Then it was time for food. We all sat down and had the most

delicious lunch consisting of Potatoe omelette ”Tortilla”, serrano ham,

escalivada, artichoke pie (Torta Pasqualina), pizza, and other nice

things.

Then it was time for paella!! A team from the village prepared it in huge pans and we enjoyed it with som

nice wine.

Kurt and Frank went to inspect that they prepared the paella in the right way!!


My contribution was pizza and an Italian pie "Torta Pasqualina", which is filled with artichokes,

ricotta, eggs and parmesan cheese and looks like this:

At this stage we were quite satisfied as you can understand, but now came

THE MONA and other cakes, chocolate and a sweet wine called

Moscatell and, finally, coffee.

What a day!! The sun was by now burning and some of us layed

down under the Carob tree and had a ”siesta”.

It was time to go home and a happy caravan of cars left down the

hill. I and Åsa decided to WALK home, to try to get rid of some

of the food. It was a very lovely walk through olive plantations and

fields full of flowers. The air was perfumed with thyme and rosemary

and birds were singing.

Sometimes life is really wonderful!! Eating outside in the nature

in company of loved ones and good friends!!

An Easter to remember!

El Tió, a Catalan Christmas tradition

In the Northeast corner of Spain lies the region of Catalonia were we live. The capital is Barcelona.

In old times in Catalonia when, like everywhere else, life was mostly rural, late in the night in Christmas Eve families were waiting for the moment to leave for the church to attend the “Missa del gall” (“Cock's Mass”) thus named due to the time at night when it was and still is celebrated.

One of the problems for the families was to keep the children awaken, since they were also expected to attend the Mass, one of the highest moments of the year.
In Catalonia, the great Christmas meal, with all the family around, is the lunch on the very 25. Therefore one could not rely on the dinner on the 24 “to gain time”.

To keep the children entertained by the fire, somebody, somewhere, decided to pick up one of the logs (“tió” in Catalan language!) intended for the fireplace and managed to convince the children that, if they hit it, the tió was going to poop out some presents, mostly sweets like turrons and golosinas (sweets).




different types of torrones






Torrones



Golosinas



That´s why it is called “Caga tió”. (To poop is cagar) The children sing or say a verse while hitting the tió with a stick. The verse is, more or less like this:
 "Poop Tió, poop torrones, almonds and pinenuts,
don´t poop herrings, they are too salted, poop
torrones that they are better.
Poop Tió, poop turrones, if not I will
hit you with the stick.

In Catalonia, like in all Spain, important presents for the children are traditionally brought by the “Reis Mags” (“The Three Wise Men”) on the night of January 5.

In the old times they came by foot and on camels. And still they arrive in style. Here in Torredembarra they come by boat and then, by charriots, they proceed along the promenade by the beach when their Majesties give presents to the children who wait for them at a big tent. (The presents have been brought there by the parents beforehand). They also throw out tons of caramels while passing. Nowadays they also arrive from the Orient by plane!! Here they are, just arrived at the airport:

The tradition of the “Tió” was thus born and it continues today with every family adjusting it to its own customs. Children begin to feed the tió about 2 weeks before Xmas with peels of mandarins and other things from the table. All to make him fat, so he will poop a lot! Then, when the moment comes, one has to make the children go and do something, while one hides small presents and sweets under the blanket of the tió. In our house we tell the children to go to the bathroom and wet the stick well, otherwise it does not work!

Another funny custom that has to do with pooping is the “caganer”. A person who sits and poops in the Nativity scene.. The story is that when Jesus was born the world went on as usual and of course there were also some people doing their needs.
 
 

  Here the wise men pass a "caganer".

 
 
Now it is very popular to show famous people as “caganer”. Here for example Barças football player Messi!