South Africa

One nativity was set in an abandoned junk-laden lot. Joseph wore a tuxedo, tattered and dirty, with his hat in his hand, while Mary wore a torn and stained white dress. Jesus was swaddled in newspaper and slept peacefully in a shopping cart. Singing policemen kept their watch by night. If you wound them up, they sang the melody to “Silent Night”. The three wise men were there as well: they dropped coins into Joseph’s hat. — Jerry Stratton (It Isn’t Murder If They’re Yankees)