Held in front of the cathedral since 1786, the Fira de Santa Llúcia sells everything a Catalan Christmas requires: pessebre figures, moss and cork for the nativity landscape, holly, and two items that need explaining.
The caganer is a small figure of a peasant with his trousers down, defecating, which is placed in a corner of the nativity scene for luck and fertility of the soil; modern versions caricature politicians and footballers. The tió de Nadal is a hollow log with a painted face and a blanket, which children feed for a fortnight and then beat with sticks on Christmas Eve while singing, so that it produces sweets.
No attendance figure is published.
The fair opens around 25 November and closes on 23 December. It is free, outdoors and extremely crowded at weekends; weekday mornings are the time to go.
PlanningOpens around 25 November and runs to 23 December, in front of the cathedral.