Hundreds of children implore 'longest ever Tió log' to dump various goodies

Bags full of candy, small toys, or many other items are among the hundreds of goodies that the "world's longest-ever Tió log" dumped on Thursday in the town of Sant Esteve, southern Catalonia.

The tió, a log propped up on sticks, with a painted face, wearing a barretina hat, and covered with a blanket, measured 53 meters in length.

"That we know, this is the longest ever Tió log, on Guinness World Record there is nothing that says the contrary," Oriol Foguet, president of the Tió d'Alcover union, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

Children have been beating this tió for over three decades, as it has become a tradition and one of the most essential Christmas events in the town.

The initiative is open to Sant Esteve neighbors and everyone in the southern Catalonia region who wants to participate in such a unique tradition.

The 370 children had to divide themselves into two different groups in the Plaça Nova, coinciding with Saint Stephen's Day, to beat it with sticks and sing a traditional ditt,y imploring the log to dump various goodies.