Without the caganer, there would be no nativity scene but rather a liturgy, and there would be no real country but just the false landscape of a model." Joan Barril "The caganer seems to provide a counterpoint to so much ornamental hullabaloo, so much emotive treacle, so much contrived beauty." "The caganer is, like so many other things that have undergone the filtering of a great many generations, a cult object; with the playful, aesthetic and superficial devotion that we feel towards all the silly things that fascinate us deep down." Local reactions The practice is tolerated by the Catholic Church within the areas where the Caganer is popular. Although the tradition generally has popular support, opinion is divided as to whether it is wholly appropriate and not all nativity scenes in Catalonia include the figure. Similar traditions The Caganer is not the only defecating character in the Catalan Christmas tradition—another is the Tió de Nadal, which also makes extensive use of the image of faecal matter (it is a log, i.e. tió which, having been "fed" for several weeks, is told to defecate on Christmas Eve and "magically" produces candy for children, a candy that has supposedly come from its bowels). Other mentions of faeces and defecation are common in Catalan folklore: indeed, a popular Catalan saying for use before a meal is ("Eat well, shit heartily, and don't be afraid of death!"). In his book Barcelona, architecture critic and locale historian Robert Hughes gives a good introduction to this earthy tradition. The Caganer can also be found in other European cultures, either as an import or a minor local tradition: In France: Père la Colique ("Father Colic"). In France this figure seems to date from the 1930s or 40s. In Murcia, the region just south of the Valencian Community in Spain (where they are called cagones) The Naples area, where it is known as cacone or pastore che caca Portugal, where they are known as cagões Traditional vs. modern portrayals The traditional caganer is portrayed as a Catalan peasant man (i.e. a farmer or shepherd) wearing a typical hat called a Barretina—a red stocking hat with a black band. At least since the late 1970s, the figure of a traditional Catalan peasant woman was also added, wearing traditional garb including the long black hairnet. The Catalans have modified this tradition a good deal since the 1940s. In addition