The abbey of Sant Miquel del Fai is an antique beautiful Benedict monastery close to the town Riells in the Catalan region of Valles Oriental, 50km away from Barcelona. The exact date of its foundation is unknown, but a community of monks was already settled down in 1006. It was funded by Gombau de Besura, the owner of – among other properties - the Montbui Castle in Caldes, in Catalonia.

Despite being a small monastery, during the centuries it left a mark in the history of Catalunya. Other museums in Barcelona conserve several unique and important historical remnants from the Roman era, deriving from the monks living in the monastery of Sant Miquel del Fai. Indeed, the monastery contains the only Romanesque chapel in Catalonia!

This all can sound avarage to the visitor of Catalonia who might have already seen several monasteries from that antique era. So what is so special in this church?

The interesting thing is the fact that it was built in a cave, serving a roof by its own! It is the largest troglodyte church in the country. It has a Romanic portal formed by a semicircular arch. It has a small crypt and there is an access to it through the staircase near the entrance. On the floor of the church there are visible gravestones of former abbots. In the side chapels, there are two graves, practically disappeared.

The old priory house has Gothic style and was built in the fifteenth century. For many years, it functioned as a hostel but it managed to retain its original layout.

The natural environment of the monastery is also special. It is located in a well preserved natural environment framed by the rocky cliffs of Cingles de Berti, in the pre-costal mountain range of the Cordillera Prelitoral Catalana. The river Tenes has shaped limestone formations, a large waterfall and several caves make up the highlight of the place.

The sight is unique! Do not miss it if you visit Catalunya!

You can get there by public transport, with the Bus Saglés from the Estacio del Nord in Barcelona.

You can find more information on the following website: www.santmiqueldelfai.net .

In Spain we generally consider 8th December – the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, to be when Christmas begins. This is the day when the people in Spain start to put up the Christmas decorations. In most of the Spanish homes the nativity is one of the most important features of the decorations. The family enjoys building together the Bethlehem where the Baby Jesus is born.

You can find the biggest Christmas market in Barcelona in the Avenida de la Catedral, in front of the Barcelona’s Cathedral in the Gothic quarter of the old city. 2011 is the 225^th edition of the Santa Lucia market in Barcelona. You can find hundreds of “figuritas de Belén” which are the tiny figures to make the Christmas nativity scene called “pessebres”. You can also find crappers called “Caganers” and other Christmas decorations.

The Caganer is a feature of the nativity scene that you only see in Catalunya. It is a figure of Catalan man wearing traditional Catalan clothes. He is squatting with his trousers around ankles and pooing! This may seem strange, but it is a custom from the 18^th Century. His poo is seen a sign of good luck as it fertilizes the earth and ensures a good harvest for the coming year.

Caga Tio comes out on 8^th December. It is a small log with a smiley face, wearing the traditional red Catalan hat – the Barretina. The name Caga Tio means ‘Poo Log’. Every day between 8^th December and Christmas Eve, children look after the Caga Tio. They cover him with a blanketto make sure he is warm and they feed him Turron every evening. This is to ensure that he is nice and full so that he will poo out lots of treats on Christmas Eve!

A special day during the Christmas market are 13^th December – “Dia de Santa Lúcia” and the “Diada de les Tradicions u els Costums Nadalencs a Catalunya”, and 20^th December , which is the “Tió gegant” giant long day.

On Christmas Eve, after dinner, dessert comes courtesy of Caga Tio. The children are given a stick with which they hit the Caga Tio. They sing a special song:

“Caga Tio avellanes I torró

Si no vols cagar

Et donanem un cop de pal.”

The translation of this is: “Caga Tio hazelnuts and turron, If you don’t want to poo, We will hit you with a stick.”

The children then reach inside the Caga Tio1s blanket and find sweets and small toys. Similar to the sorts of treats that children receive in their stockings from Santa Claus.