It seems that Trinis need not travel to Miami to get top-of-the-line Christmas decorations, as local retailers appear to have it fully covered.

However, after visiting five major stores, it seems crèche figurines/angels do not fall into their definition of Christmas decorations.

If they do, the quality, quantity, variety, and availability are pitiable.

Our public spaces are covered with Christmas (or should I say Xmas) trees, reindeer, nutcrackers, images of Santa Claus, elves, candy canes, snowflakes, snowmen and presents. Finding a public crèche was an adventure in many instances and a disgrace in others as you will see in this art review.

Jesus, known as the Christ or “anointed one”, was born in Bethlehem during the reign of Emperor Augustus. In time, his followers became so influential in world affairs that our common calendar takes as its starting point the presumed date of Jesus' birth, calling it Year 1.

The faith Jesus preached spread throughout the Mediterranean World – the Roman Empire – at a rapid rate. Later, Christianity would dominate Europe , not just spiritually but culturally and politically as well.

As a consequence, art and architecture in Europe , as well as music and literature, were overwhelmingly dedicated to the Christian Church for well over 1,000 years. In fact, the religious theme has been among those most frequently treated with by artists in every age.

An image that has been consistently represented in Christian art is that of the Nativity Scene as many Americans call it, or the crèche as we know it, due to our French influence.

The word “crèche” ( cresche of Germanic origin) comes from the Old French, meaning “manger” or “crib”, and commonly refers to the scene of Christ's birth.

Photos by Kwynn Johnson

Crèche at Gulf City.

Nativity scene at Long Circular Mall

Crèche at Movie Towne

The first definition of a crèche, written in 1619, said that a crèche was “to bring to life the events of the birth of Christ so that all who view the scene may personally share the wonder of those who originally saw it”.

Since the Middle Ages, the crèche has been displayed in churches during the period from Christmas Eve to January 6, especially after St Francis of Assisi instituted the custom in 1223 at Gréccio , Italy.

This “visual sermon” is intended to motivate us to read the scriptural accounts of Christ's birth and to meditate on their meaning for our lives.

I decided to examine some public depictions of this narrative in Trinidad this Christmas season.

These outdoor and indoor installations can be found in malls, cinemas, parks and offices.

They vary in size, composition, context and material.

I photographed crèches at Gulf City, Trincity Mall, Long Circular Mall, Archbishop's House, West Mall and Movie Towne.

Up to December 15, the Brian Lara Promenade in Port of Spain had just an empty cage with dried grass on top, but all the trees were well lit.

It was an interesting investigation in many ways with some good and some not so good representations. For instance, the crèche at Archbishop's House incorporates hanging bunches of grapes which I found very creative.

Movie Towne's is placed next to a “Coming Soon” poster for Superman , indeed very ironic yet a reality of our modernity. Long Circular Mall's rests on top of a round plinth about four feet high so that we must look up to the scene.

Their figurines take on a very regal look. Gulf City 's was a shoddy display, clearly an afterthought, like Trincity Mall's. Gulf City 's comprised gold spray-painted figures hanging from the ceiling on a round, hard base, barely three feet in diameter.

However, the main atrium was decked with trees, icicles, garlands and tinsel like most other places.

Generally, the lamb was the most popular animal in crèches, while the donkey the least popular. Some had camels but no Wise Men, while some had Wise Men but the only animal was a lamb.

José Salazar shares with readers his memories of crèches of yesteryear:

Around the 1940s, Fr Pedro Valdez started the “Best Crèche” competition. My parish was Rosary. Many families lived on Oxford , Pembroke, Frederick, New and Gordon Streets in Port of Spain. As boys we would ride around town looking at crèches on people's front lawns; the winner got a big hamper.

The Glendinnings store on Frederick Street was famous for the crèche usually displayed in its big show window.

The American soldiers -- who were based dockside by the YMCA on Wrightson Road in the 1940s -- had large crèche figurines. After the war they were donated to the Catholic Church and a crèche was set up by the St Ann 's roundabout.

Students of all Catholic schools in Port of Spain and the Legion of Mary choirs would come to sing at 5.00 p.m. , and at 8.00 p.m. there would be a service. Later, we got the Police band involved and Girl Pat Steel Orchestra.

In the 1970s I was chairman of the Committee for the St Ann 's roundabout crèche. This crèche eventually came under the auspices of the Christian Council of Trinidad and Tobago.

Wayne Berkeley designed a secure shelter for the crèche and later it was moved to Independence Square .”