Nativity Scenes

Thirty-two pastry chefs in Naples, Italy, unveiled what they say is the biggest Nativity scene ever made entirely of chocolate. More than 4,500 hours and almost 7,300 pounds of chocolate went into creating the creche, which is 19 feet wide, nearly 10 feet high and completely edible. Pastry chefs, carpenters, sculptors and painters pooled their skills to produce the elaborate scene of hills, caves, houses and more than 100 figures of shepherds, animals and townspeople.

Even after Christmas, many L.A. homes are adorned with lights, ribbons, ornaments and the occasional inflatable snowman or Santa -- colorful, brightly lighted decorations that are easy to see from the confines of a speeding car. To see the intricate works of nacimientos, however, you'll need to either slow down or ditch the car entirely.

Religious holiday decorations that were banished a year ago from their longtime home in Mission Viejo to a remote park have returned this year to the bustling corner of Chrisanta Drive and La Paz Road, restoring a 35-year-old tradition that many locals had feared would fade. "The religious symbols have special meaning during the holidays," said city resident Thanh Thayer, 35, who visits the intersection annually with her daughters to see the popular Nativity scene.

When fantasies are not just allowed but expected, residents of East Los Angeles rise to the occasion. In a few frontyards this Christmas season--which includes today's Feast of the Epiphany, celebrating the gifts of the three kings to the baby Jesus--Nativity scenes go beyond statues of Mary, Joseph and the Christ child. In these imaginative creations, the holy family looks out from Bethlehem onto tropical jungles and snowy Victorian towns, dinosaur parks and roadside taco stands.

James Govan is a man on a mission: to promote and expand the 800-year-old creche tradition. His collection contains 300-plus sets from 80 countries. Many collectors focus on traditional tabletop scenes, some of which include dozens of figures and shops re-creating Bethlehem at the time Jesus was born. But Govan, 65, prefers folk art creches.

About 600 nativity scenes will be on view today and Sunday. The creches will be on display from noon to 9 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 1600 Erbes Road. The nativity scenes include 60 from Simi Valley collector Leila Jones, whose displays include a nativity scene so small it fits on the head of a pin, a creche made up of marionettes and one from Kyrgyzstan with the Mary figurine wearing a burka. The event is free.

There isn't a Santa Claus in sight. Or reindeer. In fact, there's not even much in the way of lights to draw visitors' attention to the scene being played out at the Pistey house. But that doesn't seem to stop the crowds. For in a neighborhood where light shows dominate, the Pistey family opted to go back to the roots of the Christmas holiday: the birth of Christ. As a devout Christian, Paula Pistey said she wanted to find a way to show that "Jesus is the reason for the season."

An Islamic holiday display sharing a patch of grass in Mission Viejo with Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus marks the first time in California that the holy month of Ramadan has received equal billing with Christmas on public space, Muslim leaders say. The small billboard shows a photograph of the Kaaba--the central shrine of Islam in Mecca, Saudi Arabia--with a message: "Season's Greetings." A caption under the photo reads: "The First House of Worship on Earth."

Responding to legal threats from local business leaders, Caltrans on Wednesday backed down from a move to reduce the number of nativity scenes displayed on the Euclid Avenue median. The state agency, which has jurisdiction because the street also is a state highway, had said it would allow only four of the customary 12 scenes this year. The rest were to be representative of non-Christian faiths.