A perk of traveling is seeing how other people live. On one of the first stops of our cross-country road trip, we saw how our friends live in Atlanta, GA. They built an absolutely beautiful contemporary home, one with some surprises.
All the interesting details of their home fascinated us. So, when we saw the Christmas manger scene, displayed at eye-level on a deep windowsill, we were surprised. In fact, we couldn’t believe our eyes. Really?! You’re kidding?!
Nothing was mentioned. (Were we speechless?) A quick nip into the powder room revealed the answer to our questions. A framed poster from their trip to Barcelona was hanging on the wall by the toilet. The poster was from a museum’s show of the caganer.
Is this real? We googled “caganer” and found this definition on Wikipedia: “a figurine depicted in the act of defecation appearing in nativity scenes in Catalonia and neighbouring areas with Catalan culture” dating back to the 18th century.
“The caganer is a particular and highly popular feature of modern Catalan nativity scenes.” There is no known origin for this tradition, but one possible explanation is “The idea that God will manifest himself when he is ready, without regard for whether we human beings are ready or not.”
So, we have concluded, our friends are just carrying on an old tradition that makes an important theological point…and, with their wonderful senses of humor, they have added to the framed art in their powder room another poster you might also enjoy:
January 2013
simpletravelourway 
Wonders will never cease! What a find – can hardly wait for your next post of the wonders of travel.
Yes, we are learning to expect the unexpected and to not jump to conclusions as we travel.