Editing Catalonia (section)

=== Festivals and public holidays ===
{{Main|Traditions of Catalonia}}
[[File:4 de 9 amb folre i pilar.jpg|thumb|Castell 4 de 9 amb folre i pilar by Colla Vella de Valls]]
[[Castell]]s are one of the main manifestations of Catalan popular culture. The activity consists in constructing human towers by competing {{lang|ca|colles castelleres}} (teams). This practice originated in [[Valls]], on the region of the Camp de Tarragona,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tarragona, City of Human Towers – Tarragona Turisme|url=https://www.tarragonaturisme.cat/en/tarragona-city-human-towers|access-date=2023-03-29|website=www.tarragonaturisme.cat|archive-date=29 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329184858/https://www.tarragonaturisme.cat/en/tarragona-city-human-towers|url-status=live}}</ref> during the 18th century, and later it was extended to the rest of the territory, especially in the late 20th century. The tradition of [[Castell|els Castells i els Castellers]] was declared Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by [[UNESCO]] in 2010.

In main celebrations, other elements of the Catalan popular culture<ref>-Joan Prat i Jesús Contreras. Conèixer Catalunya. Les Festes Populars. Editorial Dopesa 2. 1979. 159 pp. Idioma català. {{ISBN|84-7235-438-5}}.</ref> are also usually present: parades with {{lang|ca|[[Gegants i capgrossos|gegants]]}} (giants), bigheads, stick-dancers and musicians, and the {{lang|ca|[[correfoc]]}}, where devils and monsters dance and spray showers of sparks using firecrackers. Another traditional celebration in Catalonia is {{lang|ca|[[Patum de Berga|La Patum de Berga]]}}, declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the [[UNESCO]] on 25 November 2005.<ref>[http://www.bergueda.com/lapatum/festa.asp Patum de Berga]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227050231/http://www.bergueda.com/lapatum/festa.asp|date=27 February 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Festa major de la Seu d'Urgell.JPG|thumb|left|{{lang|ca|[[Gigantes y cabezudos|Gegants i capgrossos]]}} during the festa major of [[La Seu d'Urgell]] ]]

[[Christmas]] in Catalonia lasts two days, plus [[Christmas Eve]]. On the 25th, Christmas is celebrated, followed by a similar feast on the 26, called Sant Esteve (Saint Steve's Day). This allows families to visit and dine with different sectors of the extended family or get together with friends on the second day.

One of the most deeply rooted [[Christmas traditions]] is the popular figure of the {{lang|ca|[[Tió de Nadal]]}}, consisting of an (often hollow) log with a face painted on it and often two little front legs appended, usually wearing a Catalan hat and scarf. The word has nothing to do with the Spanish word ''tío'', meaning uncle. ''Tió'' means log in Catalan. The log is sometimes "found in the woods" (in an event staged for children) and then adopted and taken home, where it is fed and cared for during a month or so. On [[Christmas Day]] or on [[Christmas Eve]], a game is played where children march around the house singing a song requesting the log to poop, then they hit the log with a stick, to make it poop, and lo and behold, as if through magic, it poops candy, and sometimes other small gifts. Usually, the larger or main gifts are brought by the Three Kings on 6 January, and the tió only brings small things.
[[File:Tió de Nadal.jpg|thumb|A tió exhibited at Plaça Sant Jaume in Barcelona in the 2010–2011 Christmas season]]

In addition to traditional local Catalan culture, traditions from other parts of Spain can be found as a result of migration from other regions, for instance the celebration of the Andalusian {{lang|es|[[Seville Fair|Feria de Abril]]}} in Catalonia.

On 28 July 2010, second only after the [[Canary Islands]], [[Ban on bullfighting in Catalonia|Catalonia became another Spanish territory to forbid bullfighting]]. The ban, which went into effect on 1 January 2012, had originated in a popular petition supported by over 180,000 signatures.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Tremlett|first1=Giles|title=Catalonia votes to ban bullfighting|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/28/bullfighting-ban-spain-catalonia|access-date=11 October 2017|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=28 July 2010|archive-date=12 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012045159/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/28/bullfighting-ban-spain-catalonia|url-status=live}}</ref>