Ocean Ave. Nativity Scenes (Santa Monica, Yorba Linda: 2015, city hall, cinema)

[Exitus Acta Probat]

I look forward to driving to downtown Santa Monica and seeing the nativity scenes -- how do they look this year?

[Cinema Cat]

The Santa Monica Chabad is distributing free calendars in stores. The cover has a photo of the Santa Monica City Hall with a menorah on display.

Why are there menorahs (a religious symbol) on public lands, but you can't display nativity scenes on public land? You can only display secular Christmas icons, such as Santa Claus or trees. You can't even call it a Christmas Tree. The tree on the Promenade is called a Holiday Tree.

Why the double standard?

[Finper]

Originally Posted by Cinema Cat

The Santa Monica Chabad is distributing free calendars in stores. The cover has a photo of the Santa Monica City Hall with a menorah on display.

Why are there menorahs (a religious symbol) on public lands, but you can't display nativity scenes on public land? You can only display secular Christmas icons, such as Santa Claus or trees. You can't even call it a Christmas Tree. The tree on the Promenade is called a Holiday Tree.

Why the double standard?

How stupid. When I was a kid in SM I loved going with my family to see the nativity displays

[Exitus Acta Probat]

The nativity scenes still aren't on display in downtown SM?

[Cinema Cat]

Originally Posted by Exitus Acta Probat

The nativity scenes still aren't on display in downtown SM?

They used to be displayed in Palisades Park. But that was public land, so they've been forced to relocate to private land: https://smmirror.com/2019/12/santa-m...nes-to-return/

The original Nativity Scenes and any overnight displays were banned from Palisades Park by the City of Santa Monica in 2012. A long-running legal battle ensued after Santa Monica’s Nativity Scenes, the non-profit behind the installation, sued the City with charges of “violating our constitutional rights of free speech and free practice of religion” by banning the Nativity Scenes. In 2015 the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the city forcing the displays to be relocated to private property.

Nativity scenes on public land -- violates church/state separation.

Menorah on public land -- no problem.

[Stephy0519]

Oh that's so sad. We were over in Yorba Linda this weekend, for a restaurant, and they had a living Nativity Scene. It was pretty cool--I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid.

[(901)]

Originally Posted by Cinema Cat

They used to be displayed in Palisades Park. But that was public land, so they've been forced to relocate to private land: https://smmirror.com/2019/12/santa-m...nes-to-return/

The original Nativity Scenes and any overnight displays were banned from Palisades Park by the City of Santa Monica in 2012. A long-running legal battle ensued after Santa Monica’s Nativity Scenes, the non-profit behind the installation, sued the City with charges of “violating our constitutional rights of free speech and free practice of religion” by banning the Nativity Scenes. In 2015 the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the city forcing the displays to be relocated to private property.

Nativity scenes on public land -- violates church/state separation.

Menorah on public land -- no problem.

No room for Jesus at the Santa Monica Inn. He's been down that road before.
What a mistake...

[Chickenfriedsteak]

Originally Posted by Cinema Cat

They used to be displayed in Palisades Park. But that was public land, so they've been forced to relocate to private land: https://smmirror.com/2019/12/santa-m...nes-to-return/

The original Nativity Scenes and any overnight displays were banned from Palisades Park by the City of Santa Monica in 2012. A long-running legal battle ensued after Santa Monica’s Nativity Scenes, the non-profit behind the installation, sued the City with charges of “violating our constitutional rights of free speech and free practice of religion” by banning the Nativity Scenes. In 2015 the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the city forcing the displays to be relocated to private property.

Nativity scenes on public land -- violates church/state separation.

Menorah on public land -- no problem.

This is so strange. Why would menorahs be ok but not nativity scenes? Can anyone explain?

[Texamichiforniasota]

Originally Posted by Chickenfriedsteak

This is so strange. Why would menorahs be ok but not nativity scenes? Can anyone explain?

I don't know any details about the menorah at city hall. Googling turns up nothing except a mention of a menorah lighting at the Third Street Promenade.

The background behind the nativity scenes is that the city didn't want to be refereeing religious displays so they just got rid of them, and they are now displayed at a Baptist Church in Santa Monica instead of on public grounds. The last few years that the nativity scenes were being done, atheist groups had had won almost all the spots in the lottery and made pastafarian and other secular displays. Rather than put up a bunch of non-religious displays and continue to deal with complaining by religious groups, the city just decided to get out of the promotion of religion all together.

[wontoo3]

Originally Posted by Texamichiforniasota

I don't know any details about the menorah at city hall. Googling turns up nothing except a mention of a menorah lighting at the Third Street Promenade.

The background behind the nativity scenes is that the city didn't want to be refereeing religious displays so they just got rid of them, and they are now displayed at a Baptist Church in Santa Monica instead of on public grounds. The last few years that the nativity scenes were being done, atheist groups had had won almost all the spots in the lottery and made pastafarian and other secular displays. Rather than put up a bunch of non-religious displays and continue to deal with complaining by religious groups, the city just decided to get out of the promotion of religion all together.

If the non-Christian scenes weren't vandalized they city would have likely allowed ALL the displays to remain.