The atheist Grinches who succeeded in stealing Christmas have unknowingly left behind a valuable gift for all Americans of faith.
For fifty-seven years, Santa Monica churches set up fourteen nativity scenes in Palisades Park, a short distance from where the lower forty-eight end at the Pacific. There was something in it for everyone. Religious Christians found inspiration in the colorful depiction of a story that holds out for them the promise of universal love and peace one day. Less spiritually-oriented merchants could appreciate the smiles on the faces of tourists, which would translate into more shopping dollars in their registers. Jews (who were happy with their menorah display in the same location) could pass the displays and thank G-d that they lived among tolerant friends and neighbors whose religious convictions gave them a platform from which to teach their children about the sanctity of all human life, the importance of responsibility, and the value of family life.
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