Cool bike Nativity tour -- listed on Tu Ciudad magazine's* website -- for this Sunday, Jan. 6, through Highland Park, Lincoln Heights and Boyle Heights. (All of which are the new Echo Park, according to some. Well, close enough.) The folk-art crawl features Nativity scenes in houses and yards, on roofs, in a living room. This is the 8th annual tour.

According to the Latino Urban Forum:

Nacimientos, or nativity scenes, is a tradition that many Latino throughout Latin America follow during the Christmas season. This tradition takes place in the streets of LA where many immigrants and multi-generational families spend countless hours creating Nacimientos in their front yards, porches, on roofs, as well as in the home. Nacimientos range in size, complexity, and creativity. Some can be a simple scene of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to elaborate landscapes with tinsel waterfalls, sparkling lights, and hundreds of pieces. Each Nacimiento reflects the creator’s devotion to Christmas and can be very personal in nature. For many Latinos, the building of the sets begins the day after December 12th, which is the feast day of Our lady of Guadalupe and they stay up until January 6th, when the three kings arrive with gifts for the new born king.

Click here for a score of images from the 2006 tour. I am not a Nativity nut by any stretch, but some of these images are truly poetic. I recommend starting at the first address.

*Full disclosure: I copyedit for Ciudad.