Nativity

I've seen all sorts of renditions of the nativity on cozy mantels or in front of churches. Some are large and exquisitely sculpted, or small and handmade out of corn husks, wood and even play-doh.

The annual Santa Monica Nativity Scenes display will open in Palisades Park along Ocean Avenue today. The 14 life-size dioramas describing the story of the birth of Christ are comprised of mannequins dressed in robes, with expressionless faces one can hardly imagine roaming the desert. This has been a Santa Monica tradition for 52 years. In all that time no one has thought to make a single improvement, mainly that the story of the nativity is best seen through a chain link fence.