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You gotta love off-the-wall holiday traditions. The Swedes have their day-long Donald Duck TV show marathon on Christmas Eve (no, seriously) and the Germans and Austrians have the Krampus. But one of the most unique just has to be el caganer of the traditional Spanish nativity scene. "Merry Christmas! Sh*tter was full!" What is the caganer you might ask? Well, quite literally, it is a person... ummm... (how can I put this delicately? - Oh good, my nine-year-old son looking over my shoulder as I type this helped me out: "Just put it's a guy taking a poo."). Fine then....

Nativity Scene at St. Patrick’s Cathedral – New York, NY Behind the Blessed Virgin Mary and between the donkey and cow is a new addition to the St. Patrick’s Cathedral crèche: man’s best friend.St. Patrick’s rector Monsignor Robert Ritchie sets up the nativity each year at St. Patrick’s. This year, he decided to create a new tradition to reflect the dogs’ presence.It’s a dog in the likeness of Ritchie’s own Lexington, a yellow lab he got 15-years-ago, just two days before Christmas.“It turned out that the dog they showed me looked very much like my own dog,� Ritchie told...

(CANONSBURG, Pa.) New information has been discovered about the background of Megan Hartley, identified as the resident whose complaint about a Nativity scene in a borough building led to its removal. As reported on ThePittsburghChannel.com, the 57 year tradition of the local Knights of Columbus chapter of setting up the nativity scene in the borough building has come to an end due to a written complaint from Ms. Hartley. Since no other information was given about Ms. Hartley a search began. There is only 1 "Megan Hartley" listed in CANONSBURG, Pa in this people search thru VEROMI and that is...

The origins and meaning of the holiday. St. Francis' stroke of genius. This is how Joseph Ratzinger explained Christmas to the pilgrims who had come from all over the world, just before Christmas Eve. Dear brothers and sisters, with the Christmas novena, which we are celebrating in these days, the Church is inviting us to live in an intense and profound way the preparation for the Nativity of the Savior, which is now imminent. The desire that we all hold in our hearts is that the upcoming feast of Christmas may give us, in the midst of the frenetic activity...

A photo of a Nativity Scene the Catholic League erected in New York’s Central Park in December 2009. (Photo courtesy of Catholic League) (CNSNews.com) – The New York City-based Catholic League has erected a life-size Nativity scene at the heart of New York’s Central Park, hoping the display will remind Christians in other cities that such displays are legal.   Placed at the corner of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, the Nativity stands prominently in front of the world’s largest menorah – the eight-armed candelabra used to mark the eight days of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.   First...

The embattled Razzle Dazzle Czar, White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers says that the Obamas were planning a "non-religious Christmas." According to the Sunday New York Times the confession emerged at a luncheon earlier this year with former White House social secretaries. The ladies must have choked on their Caesar salads when Rogers went on to announce that the Obamas did not intend to display the Christmas Creche--the manger scene that traditionally occupies a central spot in the East Room. (This revelation reportedly drew a gasp from the retired social secretaries). The idea was that the absence of the Creche...

WELLINGTON — In this village, Jesus has returned with the help of modern-day technology.Last year, the baby Jesus figure disappeared twice from the Nativity scene in front of the Wellington Community Center, never to be seen again. This year, the new blond, blue-eyed statue was outfitted with a GPS tracking device that monitored its every movement.The evening after Jesus' birth, the baby moved.At 6:45 a.m. Thursday, a village employee noticed that the statue was missing. Building maintenance supervisor Gus Arnold logged on to the monitoring system and saw that it was taken from the manger at 10 p.m. Wednesday.Arnold homed...

ANN ARBOR, MI — Persistence paid off for Frances Burke, a senior resident of Bayside, New York. For many years, the Bayside Hills Civic Association refused Burke’s request to include a nativity display in its annual holiday celebration which included a menorah and tree lighting ceremony at the public park. This year, however, Burke teamed up with the Thomas More Law Center, a national Christian public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which seeks to restore public acknowledgment of the religious significance of Christmas. As a result, for the first time in its history, the Bayside Hills...

A man barred from placing a nativity scene in the Washington State Capitol rotunda last year will no longer face opposition from state officials.  ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit last year after state officials denied the request but allowed a menorah and a “holiday tree” to be displayed.  The parties settled the suit, allowing Ron Wesselius to display a nativity scene on behalf of citizens who celebrate Christmas.   “It’s incredible to think that Americans have to think twice about whether it is OK to celebrate Christmas in public,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Byron Babione.  “Just as it is constitutional...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Sheltered under a tree and concealed by burlap and scaffolding, the Nativity scene in St. Peter's Square -- still under construction -- was planned to put the Holy Family in Joseph's carpentry workshop. The Vatican office in charge of the creche's construction took its inspiration from Matthew's Gospel account of the birth of Jesus: "When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son and he named him Jesus." The central scene was designed...

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 13, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The 85-foot Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square, decorated with more than 2,000 ornaments, will be officially lit Friday.Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, will preside at the official lighting ceremony. Civil and religious authorities from the region of Bolzano in northern Italy, which donated this year's tree, will attend.The 140-year-old, 3-ton fir stands beside the Nativity scene in the square, which is still under construction.The Nativity scene, which will be unveiled on Christmas Eve, has 17 life-size statues. Of these, nine are the original figures donated by St....

Nativity scene causes protest A letter was filed with city to remove the nativity. Posted: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 7:10 a.m. MENOMINEE -- A Wisconsin-based group of atheists are protesting a decision by Menominee officials to allow a nativity scene on city property. The nativity will be in the bandshell. The Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a letter with the city, saying the display would violate the separation of Church and State. The Parks and Recreation Committe's approval of the bandshell display comes with the provision that non-Christians be allowed to add their symbols. Nativity scene plans reconsidered After...

Governor Chris Gregoire lit a Menorah in a celebration at the state Capitol on Monday, and at the same celebration, accepted the gift of a Menorah for her home. The Menorah that was lit during the ceremony is displayed in the Capitol rotunda with a Christmas tree. However, when a local resident asked for a Nativity scene to be displayed with the Menorah and the tree, the Governor refused. This morning, at the request of a local resident, Liberty Counsel faxed a letter to Governor Gregoire along with our Legal Memorandum on the constitutionality of displaying religious symbols during the...

n 1223, St. Francis of Assisi inaugurated a pious practice that in places today has become so common that many think that it always existed. This great saint, as he was traversing the rolling hills of central Italy one December to proclaim the Gospel, noticed that few of his countrymen were taking the mysteries of the faith seriously. Many were not preparing for Christmas at all. Of those who were getting ready to celebrate the Lord’s birth, they looked at it as an event tied exclusively to the past. The mysteries of the faith had become sterile. The central persons...

WASHINGTON, December 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Catholic League is reporting vandalism to nativity scenes across the United States. Figures from nativity scenes were stolen or vandalized in Tucson, AZ ; Millbrae, CA; Mission Viejo, CA; Moorpark, CA; San Francisco, CA; Naugatuck, CT; Waterbury, CT (Jesus was taken, but one of the arms was left behind); Fort Walton Beach, FL; Des Moines, IA; Sioux City, IA; Ammon, ID; Chicago, IL (32 figures of baby Jesus were nabbed-they were later dumped on the lawn of a Catholic church); Jackson County, IL (two incidents); Tinley Park, IL; Floyd County, IN; Fort Wayne,...

"The Crib Can Help Us" VATICAN CITY, DEC. 11, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the recitation of the midday Angelus. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters: After celebrating the solemnity of Mary's Immaculate Conception, we enter these days in the evocative atmosphere of preparations for this coming holy Christmas. In the present-day consumer society, this period suffers, unfortunately, a sort of commercial "contamination," which runs the risk of altering its authentic spirit, characterized by recollection, sobriety, a joy that is not exterior but profound. Therefore, it is providential that, as...

Bush is first president to choose yule card with a Scripture THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS About 2 million friends and supporters of President Bush found something in their mailboxes this month that no other president has offered: A holiday card with a Bible verse. This card has a line from Psalms, 95:2: "Let us come before him with Thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." Presidents have been sending season's greetings since Calvin Coolidge wrote "Merry Christmas" on White House stationery in 1927. And many presidents issued proclamations about faith-related events varying from the National Day of Prayer to...

Mayor Stephen P. Laffey will have carte blanche to decorate the City Hall lawn to his heart’s content; the City Council last week decided not to vote on a measure than would put the City Hall grounds under direct council control and restrict holiday decorations to strings of clear lights. The measure, sponsored by Councilor Paula B. McFarland, was introduced for discussion at last Thursday’s council ordinance committee meeting. McFarland did not attend the meeting because of scheduling conflicts, but she had previously said the mayor had no business covering the City Hall lawn with religious displays. Although she did...

I searched but am a poor searcher. Just saw this Nativity Scene abomination on TV witb Dave Beckham as Jesus and Posh Spice as the Virgin Mary. Madame Tussaud's should be ashamed of itself.

Town of Palm Beach Pays $50,000 In Attorney Fees – Apologizes To Women In Nativity Lawsuit ANN ARBOR, MI — Ending a six month legal battle over Christmas displays, the Town of Palm Beach, Florida this week paid $50,000 in attorney fees to the Thomas More Law Center pursuant to a previously entered federal court Consent Judgment. The Town also acknowledged and publicly apologized for its failure to respond to multiple offers by two of its residents, Maureen Donnell and Fern Tailer deNarvaez, to donate Christian Nativity scenes for display alongside two Town-sponsored Jewish Menorahs during the Christmas holiday...

<p>A federal judgeon Wednesday backed the city's Department of Education, ruling that the display of the nativity scene, unlike Christmas trees and menorahs, was not secular and has no place in classrooms.</p> <p>Judge Charles Sifton in Brooklyn dismissed the lawsuit brought forth by Andrea Skoros, 34, of College Point, saying the city's holiday displays policy banning non-secular symbols from schools did not violate her right to free exercise of religion.</p>

<p>A figure of baby Jesus stolen from a Maumee church is back in his manger, wearing a new coat - of paint, that is.</p> <p>During his two-week absence, Jesus’ white skin was covered with dark brown paint, said the Rev. Roger Miller, pastor of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on East Wayne Street.</p>

Crèche finds home at Palm Beach church By Tim O'Meilia, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Thursday, December 25, 2003 PALM BEACH -- A blue-eyed baby Jesus -- fashioned from Italian resin -- looked out from his manger at the Bethesda-by-the-Sea parishioners filing by dressed in their holiday best on their way to the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve children's service. Mary and Joseph looked lovingly at the infant. Three shepherds, two sheep and a donkey stood nearby. Two foreign kings approached, gifts in hand. Overhead, a cherub watched. This is the Nativity scene two Palm Beach residents wanted to donate to...

<p>If you like your Christmases straight -- i.e., "Merry Christmas" instead of "Season's Greetings" -- the run up to Dec. 25 can be a trying time. And this year the grinches are again out in full force, trying their best to strip from our public squares any hint of what most Americans will actually be celebrating come Christmas morn.</p>

THE NEW leader of Scotland’s Catholics has called for St Andrew’s Day to be made a national holiday. Cardinal Keith O’Brien also said he wanted to use his position "re-Christianise Scotland" and urged civic leaders to set up nativity scenes. O’Brien, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, was speaking at a Mass of Thanksgiving in St Mary’s Cathedral to mark his elevation to the College of Cardinals last month. He told the congregation in Edinburgh, which included First Minister Jack McConnell and SNP leader John Swinney: "I ask you all to recognise the feast of our patron saint, St...

December 11, 2002 9:00 a.m. No Room in the Public Square Crèche legal wars. "I don't know why we live in a country where people are so damn uptight that they can't stand the thought of seeing the Baby Jesus," Catholic League head Bill Donohue fumed yesterday. "If you don't like it, look away." If only it were that easy, the Catholic League wouldn't have had to join with plaintiffs in filing a federal lawsuit on Monday, charging the New York City public school system with religious discrimination and an unconstitutional infringement on the First Amendment rights of Christian schoolchildren....