You won't find a nativity scene on Betlémské náměstí, the name notwithstanding. But they're abundant throughout Prague this time of year, and worth seeking out for family sightseeing over the holidays. Many, especially at churches, had not been put up at press time. Here's a thumbnail guide to some of the most interesting early displays.

The hub of Christmas activity in the city center is Old Town Square, where a large Christmas tree and life-size gingerbread house dwarf a wood-carved crčche with unintentionally humorous touches, like the baby Jesus missing his right arm, and a pig, rather than traditional lambs or cows, standing by the manger. But there's a stable of live sheep and a lovely white pony to pet nearby, along with the usual food and gift stalls.

For a look at nativity as craft, visit the Betlémská setkání, also in Old Town. This exhibit, hidden down a passageway at Celetná 12, contains scores of eye-popping handmade scenes using materials from cloth to corn stalks. One glassed-in miniature scatters parading wise men, trumpeting angels and humble shepherds over several floors, as though the Holy Night took place inside a tiny skyscraper.

More upscale, but just as entertaining, is the Malé Jesličky exhibit at Prague Castle, featuring works by František Valena, president of Spolku Českých betlémářů (the Association of Czech Nativity-Makers).

Valena's work is sophisticated and whimsical, with plenty of interesting details. His carved and painted "Wise Man from the East," fully turbaned in red, leads an elephant through the desert. Atop the animal's back are the symbols of Moorish influence: a telescope, a mosque and a planetarium. In a separate display, Valena has created a twist on the theme of waiting shepherds by sculpting a waiting pig farmer, copper miner and birder sitting beneath a pomegranate tree.

Malé Jesličky includes works by other Czech artists as well as intricate paper cutouts and nativity posters dating from 1900. The 27 displays are glassed-in at various heights. Though modest in size, this exhibit is worth some time to absorb the detail within the dioramas and to appreciate the humor and reverence this art inspires.

On a larger scale, you'll find a display of 2,851 figures and scenery dating back at least a century at the Třebechovické muzeum betlémů in Třebechovice pod Orobem, about 100 miles from Prague.

The mechanical scenes were created by Josef Probošt, who began working on the cribs in the 1890s, becoming so obsessed with the project that he refused to work on anything else. Probošt's system of wheels, cogs, spindles and draw rods is admired by expert engineers even to this day, but the elaborate creation failed to bring him either fame or fortune. He died a pauper and his daughter sold the display to private investors and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church in 1934.

Under communism, exhibition of the cribs was prohibited and the display languished in a shed until 1967, when the government agreed to ship it to Montreal, Canada, for that year's EXPO. More than 100 years after its creation, Probošt's mechanical fantasyland was finally recognized as a national treasure.

Today, the Holy Family, bowing shepherds, the village and animals are displayed year-around, drawing throngs of admirers. Probošt's genius can be found in the wooden movable mechanisms, while the artistry of his friend, Josef Kapucián, is evidenced in the faces of the 10- to 15-centimeter tall figures populating the scenes.

If you go, look for Ludva Fabian perched in a pear tree. Long-since dead, Ludva will forever be remembered as the little Třebechovice boy who purloined the neighbor's fruit.

Back in Prague, a life-size nativity scene made from straw has been tucked into the side of St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, and a painted nativity on Kampa Island features a doe-eyed Holy Family, their golden halos radiant.