Baby Jesus theft

It is an "enduring (and illegal) practice" according to New York Times journalist Katie Rogers, "believed to be part of a yearly tradition, often carried out by bored teenagers looking for an easy prank.

[2] The prevalence of such thefts has caused some owners of outdoor manger scenes to protect their property with GPS devices or surveillance cameras, or to removing baby Jesus from the displays outside of specific requests or public showings.

[5] Father John Horgan, the pastor of the church which hosted the display, said “It’s a terrible day if we have to microchip the Christ child.

[7] During some Christmases of the first decade of the 21st century, a baby Jesus statue was often stolen from the outdoor nativity scene in Jönköping in Sweden, once thrown into the nearby lake of Vättern.

In Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a thief stole the baby Jesus statue from a public display, along with the concrete block and chain that was supposed to act as a deterrent.

[18] In December 2008, for example, a fiberglass baby Jesus valued at US$375 was stolen from a Eureka Springs, Arkansas, park and later recovered, but it had been defaced by racial slurs, a swastika, and a Hitler mustache.

[21] Two men in Kentucky were sentenced to 45 days in jail for ripping a baby Jesus out of a scene installed at the side of a private house.

[1] In his autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, the American singer Marilyn Manson admitted playing a prank in which he and a few friends stole figurines of Jesus then replaced them with hams.

A Texas family, for example, positioned surveillance cameras in their yard and discovered a teenage girl stealing their baby Jesus figurine, valued at nearly US$500.

[16] In one case, after a life-sized ceramic nativity figurine disappeared from the lawn of a community center in Wellington, Florida, sheriff's deputies tracked it to an apartment where it was found lying face-down on a carpet.

"[18] Stephen Nissenbaum, the author of The Battle for Christmas, views baby Jesus theft as neither innocent vandalism nor religious hate crimes.

Nissenbaum writes that, "What it means is that it's OK to go around violating even pretty important norms, as long as real human harm isn't being done.