mystmidwestCue the jingle bells – it’s time for a holiday episode! We bring in our other halves to tell you about some odd and spooky holiday traditions all over the globe, including Tió de Nadal, Caganers, Saturnalia, Frau Perchta, and Mari Lwyd.
Heads up – in the most Midwestern of ways, we misprounounce a whole lotta stuff in this episode – most significantly “Caganer” which we now recognize is pronounced (Cah-Guh-Nay). Sincere apologies to all Spanish speaking folks – I promise, our intentions are pure!
Required Viewing: Tió de Nadal Video/Song
Resources:
Tió de Nadal: Wikipedia.org, MentalFloss.com, Slate.com
El Caganer: Wikipedia.org, MentalFloss.com, AncientPages.com
Saturnalia: Wikipedia.org, Conspirazine, Cracked.com, Wikibooks.org
Frau Perchta: BoroughsoftheDead.com, Patheos.com, MichelleNickolaison.com
Mari Lwyd: Wikipedia.org, HyperAllergic.com, Lithub.com, Museum.Wales
Relevant Content
Caga Tio! 
Tió de Nadal 
The children beating Tio 
El Caganer 
Celebrity Caganers 
Saturn, Roman God of Agriculture 
Saturnalia by Antoine Callet 
Historical depiction of Saturnalia festival 
OG Frau Perchta Costume 
Artist depiction of The Wild Hunt 
Modern Frau Perchta costume 
The Mari Lwyd 
A leader with his Mari Lwyd 
A group of Merryman and the Mari Lwyd!
