Authorities were asking for the public’s help Tuesday in recovering a baby Jesus figurine stolen from a nativity display at the Westfield Valencia Town Center.
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For many, putting together or visiting nativity scenes is one of the core activities to the celebration of Christmas. The scene cannot be too large or too small, nor can there be too many, as some decorate their windowsills and mantelpieces with all of the crèche’s they have collected throughout the years.
Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images
The crèche was believed to have been created in a stand against rampant materialism by Saint Francis of Assisi as a reminder that the “King of Kings” was not born into great riches but into a manger to his parents who had little means. So, it may seem a little odd that all over the world, little baby Jesus’ are being nabbed from their cradles.
According to the Washington Post today, “It’s the ultimate crime against Christmas,” and it’s an activity that takes place more often than any of us might think. In one of the latest instances, the sweet baby Jesus wasn’t just stolen but replaced by a “freshly-severed pig’s head,” which is being considered as a possible “hate crime,” rather than simply a prank. Add to that, possible animal cruelty charges, since the pig doesn’t seem to have come from a butcher shop. It’s a particularly heinous instance of baby Jesus theft and far from being the only one.
In another instance, an especially pricey baby Jesus statue ($3,000 pricey) which was stolen straight from the town common of Greenfield, Mass., still has not been returned. It’s something many locals don’t understand, even though it has happened before.
Other instances include a baby Jesus being stolen numerous times from a nativity scene outside of the Washington state capitol, another being stolen from a Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C. (which in the interim of the loss, has been replaced by a lamb), and a pro-choice activist who during a protest, ran bare-breasted and with the words “God is Woman” into a manger scene to snatch up the baby Jesus in Rome.
All of these instances have caused quite a stir, frustration for many, and often, pure and utter anger. Around Christmas time, it may very well seem that the theft of baby Jesus dolls happens enough that many more should follow in the footsteps of the Indiana Masonic Home of Franklin, Ind. and install a GPS tracking device in case someone should ever try to steal the statues again.
Have you ever been in a town that had their nativity scene pranked or vandalized? Were there any solutions found? Did the thieves ever return the baby Jesus to the cradle?
*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com
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