Official Anubis

Anubis has found his way into multiple official LEGO sets as well, the only religious character to do so (albeit from a dead religion). As the jackal-headed god is highly recognizable, he shows up in sets every time LEGO ventures into Egypt. The Oasis Ambush and Sphinx Secret Surprise sets both include Anubis statues.



Set 5988 is the Temple of Anubis, and he is both in a statue and in the heiroglyphics.

Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb features two Anubis statues, and also the Ark of the Covenant.


LEGO came back to Egypt a couple of years ago with the Pharoah's Quest sets, and again Anubis was there. As a sphinx in Rise of the Sphinx and then as an Anubis guard minifig in the Scorpion Pyramid set.

Pura Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot means 'Land in the Sea' - this rocky outcrop on the coast of Bali is cut off from the main land at high tide, and accessible by foot at low tide. During the 15th century, the traveling Hindu priest Nirartha rested at this spot, and was inspired by the beautiful location to found a shrine to worship the local sea gods. This recreation of Pura Tanah Lot is found in Legoland Malaysia.

Official set: Leaning Tower of Pisa

LEGO has just released a new set in their Architecture line: 21015, Leaning Tower of Pisa. Some may not associate the Tower with religion, but indeed it is the campanile (free standing bell tower) of the Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption), the main cathedral of Pisa. Most people are familiar with the sight of the leaning tower, but the cathedral and baptistry that form a complex are also quite striking. I've previously described past LEGO sets with religious content. They are few and far between, and last year LEGO released a statement that they would not produce sets with "Religious references including symbols, buildings, or people." At least via the Cuusoo site that allows LEGO fans to propose set ideas. The Architecture line, OTOH, at least opens the possibility of religious structures, and here we see the result. As noted, most people don't see the Leaning Tower as religious - I do hope that they decide to go on and do something a little more explicit, such as Notre Dame or another cathedral (they did include the Sagrada Familia as a potential Architecture set. Not that LEGO has to copy other toy companies, but it is notable that Nanoblock has sets based on the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Mont St Michel, the Kaminarimon (complete with statues of Shinto gods), Kinkakuji Temple, Sagrada Familia, the Taj Mahal, and the Moai of Easter Island. Okay, a couple of those are only subtly or potentially religious sites, but others are quite explicitly so.

Jabba Sophia no more, well, not much more, well, for two years more

Revisiting an earlier story, the Austrian Turkish Islamic community is claiming victory, because LEGO has said that the set Jabba's palace is going to be discontinued at the end of 2014. They had previously complained was racist (really!) because it looks too much like the Hagia Sophia, or was it the Jami al-Kabir Mosque, or was it any building with a domed roof. LEGO responded that, no, they weren't changing anything in response to these protests, that products don't sit on the shelf for more than two years anyway. Personally, I think that LEGO has caved in to complaints from the Hundred Acres Wood because they aren't producing the Winnie the Pooh sets anymore. Really, when you read LEGO's response you can literally hear them beating their heads against the wall.

Chinese New Year

I know, this is a week late. I've been busy, and also this past week has been pretty full of things to note here, with the news about the Pope and then a series of holidays with more or less connection to religious themes. A week ago yesterday was Chinese New Year, and first I need to note that this is not a religious holiday. Instead it is a cultural holiday, but Buddhist, Taoist and folk religious traditions have been tied in to this day over the years. For instance, household altars are cleaned and redecorated for the new year. Taoists will burn an effigy of the kitchen god so that he can go to the Jade Emperor to report on the family in the previous year. Buddhists will refrain from eating meat on certain days around this celebration. The Chinese zodiac is a fold tradition, but also gets tied to religious stories, for instance with Buddha picking the twelve animals. This year is the year of the snake, and LEGO celebrated by producing a limited release an official set. This set seems to be only available in Asia.

Benedict XVI

Keeping in the theme of Pope Benedict XVI, also from Legoland Windsor we get this picture of the Wall of Fame, full of famous figures. There in the bottom row you can see the outgoing pontiff - right between Hagrid and Madonna. I'm sure he's proud.

Pope Benedict XVI

As anyone who reads this blog surely already knows, today Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will retire at the end of this month due to his advanced age and illness. This makes him the first Pope to step down from office before death in centuries. In 2010, Benedict visited London, and Legoland Windsor commemorated the event in brick form, which seemed an appropriate model to highlight today.

Jabba Sophia

In a little daily dose of the absurd, the Turkish Islamic community in Austria seems to have raised a fuss when they decided that LEGO set 9516, Jabba's Palace looks too much like either the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul or the Jami al-Kabir Mosque in Beirut. Since this is the abode of gangsters and terrorists (and pseudo-Buddhist monks?!?!?), they cried foul. An organization known as the Turkish Cultural Community has officially complained to LEGO about their racist and culturally insensitive depiction, and have threatened legal action. LEGO has responded, saying, essentially, "Um, did you ever hear of Star Wars? It came out only a few decades ago. Maybe you should look into it." Okay, that's my paraphrase, but if this organization is concerned about "racial prejudices and hidden suggestions against Orientals and Asians," they really need to meet a guy named Nute Gunray. BTW, meesa thinks some rastafarians are going to start complaining about set 7121 next.



Thank you to blog reader Michael for pointing this out to me. This has also been covered on such LEGO sites as Brickset, FBTB and HothBricks.

Sacré-Cœur

My recent posts of models from the new Legoland Malaysia (and I still have more to post from there) reminded me that I've never posted many of the great models from other Legoland parks, such as this version of Sacré-Cœur found in Legoland Windsor. The real Sacré-Cœur is a Catholic minor basilica overlooking Paris from atop Montmartre.

Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque

The Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque is the state mosque of Johor, Malaysia. This reproduction can be found in the new Legoland Malaysia.

Angkor Wat

One of the exiting things to me about the opening of the new Legoland Malaysia is that it includes a lot of great displays of important sites - and for this blog I'm focusing on the religiously significant sites - from Asia. So this means we've got new miniland structures from Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Angkor Wat was originally built as a Hindu temple in what is now Cambodia, but later was rededicated as a Buddhist site.

Never another set 1309, or maybe not

I've previously noted how it's been 54 years since LEGO produced an explicitly religious set.

Now LEGO has given us an official statement (or not, see below). Cuusoo is a website that allows anyone to suggest possible sets for LEGO to produce. If a set idea gets 10,000 votes, LEGO will consider producing the set. Two of the first five suggestions to reach this bar (Shawn of the Dead and Firefly) have been rejected because they do not fit LEGO brand standards, since they are not kid-friendly. LEGO has since released a statement about brand standards, saying what they will not accept. This includes things like sex, drugs, alcohol, torture ... and religion. Okay, I know that there is always going to be possible controversy if they introduce religion, but it just doesn't fit with those others (to be fair, they also exclude political creations). Here's the quote: "Understand that we will not produce products that are related to these topics: ... Religious references including symbols, buildings, or people."

Okay, that seems definitive. But then move on over to the LEGO Architecture site. Here you can vote on buildings that LEGO chose as potential future sets.

And three out of ten are religious structures - the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Saint Basil's, and Sagrada Familia:

I realize that most people don't think religion when they see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. At least before I went to Italy 20 years ago I always just figured it was a tower that leaned, but then when I went to Pisa I found it sitting right next to a cathedral, because the Tower is a campanile, or bell tower. St. Basil's similarly has become more of a national symbol of Russia (even of Communism in years gone by), and acts as a museum today. Sagrada Familia, on the other hand, is a working Catholic Cathedral. Now, don't get me wrong, I think all of these would be great sets. Indeed, I think that the LEGO Architecture line is probably our only real chance of getting religiously-themed sets (aside from some of the passing implications I previously noted). I'd just like to see some official word from LEGO on this whole area.

Ramadan Mubarak

I'd like to wish all of our Muslim readers a blessed conclusion to their Ramadan. For today, let's take a look at this mosque in Legoland Billund. I do not know if this is a reproduction of an actual structure, but I kind of assume it is since most of those Miniland displays are. So if someone knows exactly what is depicted here I'd love to know.

Giant Buddha of Changhua

A giant Buddha looks over Changhua City, Taiwan, from atop Bagua Mountain. This LEGO version is part of a huge map of Taiwan on public display (perhaps built by TWLUG members?). - Edit: I guess this is part of an official LEGO display.

Happy Thanksgiving

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. -Abraham Lincoln, 1863

Thanksgiving is, of course, a civic rather than religious holiday, but it has roots in a faith in a generous God. Here are a couple of Thanksgiving MOCs - Clancy's feast by Josh Wedin and Zerves' variation on set 10090. I hope all my readers have a wonderful day tomorrow, whether you are in the US celebrating this as a holiday or not. I'll probably be away from the computer for a couple of days, and then once December starts I'm sure that Christmas-themed creations will start appearing.

LEGO Book

DK Publishers recently released a boxed set: The LEGO Book, all about the hobby and another about minifigs (celebrating their 30th anniversary). One of the coolest aspects of the book is the inclusion of creations by LEGO fans, including the previously blogged recreation of the Cologne Cathedral by Jürgen Bramigk.



I apologize for the quality of the photo. This was cropped from a snapshot I took with my phone. Follow the link I gave above to a full gallery of great photos of this cathedral.

Wat Phra Kaew

The Wat Phra Kaew is the most important temple in Thailand, housing the Emerald Buddha. This 45 cm jade statue clothed in gold is said to have been created in 43 BC, but some historians date it much later. In any case it seems to have appeared in better-documented history in the 15th century. When King Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chakri Borommanat Phra Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (say that three times fast - is it any wonder he's also called Rama 1?) moved the capital of Siam (Thailand) to Bangkok in 1785, the temple was built to house the Buddha statue. In addition to the interesting roofline and colorful detailing, perhaps the most striking details to the casual observer (me, anyway), are the two five meter tall statues of Yaksha, or guardian demons. Anyway, Legoland Billund has a great model of the Wat Phra Kaew.




Photo credit to Barman. BTW, I should note that I'm always open to corrections on my historical notes, particularly on non-Western traditions. I'm pretty reliant on Google and Wikipedia for finding out some of these facts for those traditions more foreign to me.

Great Buddha of Kamakura

The city of Kamakura, Japan, is perhaps best known for the giant statue of Amida Buddha in the courtyard of the Kōtoku-in Temple. This bronze statue, probably made in 1252, weighs approximately 93 tons. This model is found in Legoland Billund. Photo credit goes to "raisin bun".

American archeological sites

Turning to another LEGO exhibit, this one at the Suria KLCC shopping complex at the base of the Petronis Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, we find two sites that were significant in the religions of different American cultures. Machu Picchu is one of the most significant archaeological sites from the Incan Empire, located atop a mountain in Peru. This site was constructed in the 15th century, but was soon abandoned, perhaps because of a smallpox outbreak. The location of Machu Picchu is centered among mountain peaks that line up with astronomical events significant to the faith system of the Incans, and temples that were in this complex seem to relate to the cycles of the sun. El Castillo, the main pyramid at the Chichen Itza site in southern Mexico, was built between the 11th and 13th centuries as part of the Mayan empire. If you climb up the 365 steps (days of the year), ascending through 9 layers (number of underwolds in their mythology), you'll come to a temple to Kukulcan, their equivalent of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl.

Angkor Wat

Piece of Peace is a display designed by LEGO Master Builder Kazuyoshi Naoe that recreates a number of UNESCO World Heritage sites in LEGO form. This display has been traveling around Japan (and elsewhere?) for the past several years. A great number of models depict religiously significant sites, and I'm going to try to highlight each of these. Angkor Wat was built as a Hindu temple at the direction of Suryavarman II, king of the Khmer Empire (centered in what is now Cambodia), in the 12th century. The design of the temple was meant to resemble Mount Meru, essentially the Hindu equivalent of Mount Olympus. Two centuries later, a new king, Srindravarman, converted the empire over to his own religion, Buddhism, and the temple was rededicated to this purpose. Today Angkor Wat is still revered by Cambodian Buddhists and has become a symbol of Cambodia. Photo credit goes to Claudia~~~~.



Hinduism Buddhism PieceofPeace Architecture OfficialDisplay