As we walked through the empty streets of Girona with Ona, our private city guide, she casually pointed out a log in a window, “oh that’s Caga Tío; he is what we do for Christmas.”

Matt and I looked and saw a plain log with a happy little face painted on it, propped up by two stick arms in the front and wearing the traditional Catalan red hat with a black brim. “Wait, what is he?” we asked, utterly clueless.

A few months ago a friend sent me a link with all the Christmas markets throughout Germany with personal reviews and notes. I poured over it all, adding links and dates to my calendar for the most loved markets. The Ravenna Gorge Market was one at the top of the list.

‘Tis the Season! And it starts earlier everywhere outside the United States. In the US we’ve always had the Thanksgiving holiday to focus on before everything is Christmas, but in Europe you start seeing signs it’s Christmas right after Halloween and All Saints Day.