When I was a kid –irish/catholic- every home had a statue of the Child of Prague in the window. For those unfamiliar : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_Jesus_of_Prague

The statue is of the infant Jesus in fancy garb wearing a huge crown which created a weak spot at the neck. Obviously the head of the poor baby Jesus fell off with alarming regularity. Over the years it became ‘unlucky’ to own a Child of Prague that hadn’t broken at the neck, so much so that priests were often asked to snap the neck and bless the statue to restore the luck.

Another quick point: if you passed a house where a Child of Prague was placed on the doorstep you giggled. Why? Because it meant that there where newlyweds inside the house shagging for the Lord. Looking back it seems odd to see such a fertility right enacted on the streets of a western city.

Oh, and he could control the weather, too. Ha!