Editing Nativity scene (section)

==Controversies==
===Europe===
Nativity scenes have on some occasions been the subject of controversy. A life-sized scene in the United Kingdom featuring [[Wax sculpture|waxwork]] celebrities provoked outrage in 2004,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/12/14/celebrity-wax-nativity-scene-vandalized/|title=Celebrity wax Nativity scene vandalized|work=Chicago Tribune|date=14 December 2004 |access-date=26 December 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20141228222720/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-12-14/news/0412140327_1_nativity-scene-pop-star-madame-tussauds-museum|archive-date=28 December 2014}}</ref> and, in Spain, a city council forbade{{when|date=December 2024}} the exhibition of [[caganer|a traditional toilet humor character]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12059969|title=BBC News – A traditional Nativity scene, Catalan-style|work=BBC News|date=23 December 2010|access-date=26 December 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20101224162303/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12059969|archive-date=24 December 2010}}</ref> in a public nativity scene.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

[[File:Krippenkultur Missionsspardose.jpg|thumb|"Nickneger" (Text: If you want to send help to the heathen, let me, the poorest, nod kindly.)]]
The depiction of black people in the mission money boxes under the name Nickneger in German-speaking countries, which is perceived as racist today, was later sharply criticized.<ref>Klaus Reder: ''Missionssammeldosen. Eine sachvolkskundliche Betrachtung der sogenannten Nickneger.'' In: Heidrun Alzheimer, Fred G. Rausch, Klaus Reder, Claudia Selheim (Hrsg.): ''Bilder – Sachen – Mentalitäten. Arbeitsfelder historischer Kulturwissenschaften. Wolfgang Brückner zum 80. Geburtstag''. Schnell und Steiner, Regensburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-7954-2323-0, S. 413–415 and S. 422/423.</ref>

=== United States ===
Nativity scenes have been involved in controversies and lawsuits surrounding the principle of [[accommodationism]].<ref>Sherrill, Roland A.. ''Religion and the Life of the Nation''. University of Illinois Press. 1990. p. 165.</ref>

In 1969, the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] did not want a nativity scene at [[The Ellipse]]. After the matter was resolved by the [[United States Court of Appeals]], the nativity scene was not displayed in 1973.<ref name="Menendez">Menendez, Albert J.. ''Christmas in the White House''. The Westminster Press, 1983 pp. 51–52.</ref>
[[File:American Nativity Scene.jpg|thumb|A nativity scene inside an American home.]]
[[File:United States Capitol Christmas tree lighting ceremony - December 5, 2007.JPG|thumb|Nativity scenes are permitted on public lands in the United States as long as equal time is given to non-religious symbols.]]

In 1985, the [[United States Supreme Court]] ruled in ''ACLU v. Scarsdale, New York'' that nativity scenes on public lands were unconstitutional unless they also displayed non-religious symbols.<ref name="Comfort">Comfort, David. ''Just Say Noel: A History of Christmas from the Nativity to the Nineties''. Simon and Schuster, 1995. {{ISBN|0-684-80057-8}}.</ref> This principle was further clarified in 1989, when Pittsburgh attorney [[Roslyn Litman]] argued, and the Supreme Court in ''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' ruled,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Sam |date=8 October 2016 |title=Roslyn Litman, Antitrust Lawyer and Civil Liberties Advocate, Dies at 88 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/us/roslyn-litman-antitrust-lawyer-and-civil-liberties-advocate-dies-at-88.html |website=[[New York Times]]}}</ref> that a crèche placed on the grand staircase of the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, PA violated the Establishment Clause, because the "principal or primary effect" of the display was to advance religion.

In 2006, a lawsuit by the [[Alliance Defense Fund]], a Christian legal organization in the United States, was brought against the [[Washington (state)|state of Washington]] when it permitted a public display of a holiday tree and a [[Menorah (Hanukkah)|menorah]] but not a nativity scene. Because of the lawsuit, the decision was made to permit a nativity scene to be displayed in the [[Rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]] of the state [[Washington State Capitol|Capitol]], in [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]], as long as other symbols of the season were included.<ref name="FFRF">[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008458044_noreligion02m.html "Nonbelievers' sign at Capitol counters Nativity"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122104247/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008458044_noreligion02m.html |date=22 January 2012 }}. ''Seattle Times''. 2 December 2008.</ref>

In 2013, Gov. [[Rick Perry]] signed into Texas law the [[Merry Christmas bill]] which would allow school districts in Texas to display nativity scenes.

[[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]] (PETA) claimed in 2014 that animals in living displays lacked proper care and suffered abuse.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna15892404|title=PETA mistakenly targets nativity scene – US news – Weird news – Animal weirdness – NBC News|work=msnbc.com|date=25 November 2006 |access-date=26 December 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226102612/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/15892404/ns/us_news-weird_news/t/peta-mistakenly-targets-churchs-nativity-scene/#.U9zVnONdWbA|archive-date=26 December 2014}}</ref> In the United States, nativity scenes on public lands and in public buildings have provoked court challenges, and the prankish theft of ceramic or plastic nativity figurines from outdoor displays has become commonplace.<ref>[http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/thefts-are-common-during-the-holidays/article_003d47ef-2341-5e23-a806-9f851f6ea12c.html?mode=jqm] {{dead link|date=March 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

===Spain===
{{Main|Caganer}}
There is a regional tradition in the [[Catalonia]] region where an additional figure is added to the nativity scene: the {{lang|ca|Caganer}}. It depicts a person defecating. In 2005, the Barcelona city council provoked a public outcry by commissioning a nativity scene which did not include a {{lang|ca|Caganer}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://beteve.cat/basics/pessebres-mes-polemics-sant-jaume/|title=Els pessebres més polèmics de Sant Jaume|date=26 November 2018|work=Betevé|access-date=2019-12-09|language=ca|archive-date=2019-12-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209202036/https://beteve.cat/basics/pessebres-mes-polemics-sant-jaume/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Within the realm of legend, there is speculation that it was in [[San Cristóbal de La Laguna]], [[Tenerife]], where a nativity scene was first publicly displayed in a private home in Spain.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.museobelenistaestevez.es|title=Portal de los Lercaro|access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> Likewise, the Tenerifean saint [[Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur|Peter of Betancur]], a Franciscan and founder of the [[Bethlehemite Brothers]] in the 17th century, is credited with being one of the main precursors of nativity scene design in the American lands discovered by the Spanish. This is precisely one of the reasons why this saint is often called the "''Saint Francis of Assisi of the Americas''".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/elsanfranciscode00soto|title=El San Francisco de Asís americano: Pedro de San José Bethencourt|access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>