The Polar Express/North Carolina/Santa is a Baptist

Santa is a Baptist

Did you know that Santa and Mrs. Claus are Baptist? Neither did Bill nor I, but we learned with joy and delight that he was on our trip to Bryson City, North Carolina a few Decembers ago when we took a mini-vacation to ride the Polar Express. Based on a lovely book and an animated movie (I loved it; Bill did not), we bought our tickets, boarded at the appropriate time and found seats opposite each other near a window.

The table between us was decorated in grand holiday style, and the antiquated train had been restored to some of its former glory. The promise of warm cocoa filled the air. The actors and actresses dressed their parts and were charmingly welcoming kids of all ages; the little ones even wearing pajamas, just like in the story. There was singing and with noise and anticipation as the train slowly pulled out of the station, headed toward the North Pole.

A couple of the actors took a liking to us and spent time chatting. (We were an unlikely couple on this journey—no kids; no grandkids—just adventurous faces)-- One was a retired school teacher—funny how one teacher can always find another.  The other was a “cook” and college aged young man. As we rode through little townlets, and bends in the road both sides of the track were lit up with houses participating in the ride and the fun of the story. The cocoa was served and the actors begin dancing with the kids and telling parts of the Polar Express story. The young man then said, “Look kids! Over here is the Church where Santa and Mrs. Claus were married! “To our right, we could see a lovely brick church covered in lights.

I looked at the young tour guide and said, “Wow, how about that!”—or some such silliness.

The young man said in angst and seriousness that they had had to change the script because people had complained in writing about giving Old Saint Nick a religious denomination and had resulted in new words that the crew had to memorize. He didn’t think it was so funny—apparently the letter of complaint had been a scalding one.

Later on down the track, this entertainer announced, “Look over here kids! This is where Jack Frost lives” and he pointed to a house covered in blue lights with a star on the front porch. Knowing the past accounting of such announcements just made me smile. Since I could not resist—I said to him, “Oh, look! Jack Frost is Jewish!” The young man literally froze in his tracks and said, “How do you know?”

            “Well, for one thing all the lights are blue on this house,” I responded. “But the other thing is—don’t you see that big Star of David on the porch in blue lights?”

            “I do now,” he retorted. I asked how many times he had been up and back during this particular season and he rattled off some number.

“And you have never noticed that Star of David before?” I asked.

“No, not at all,” was the reply.

I believe that humor is always bound up in timing. The back story, the look on this actor's  face when I announced that Jack Frost was Jewish, and the rest of the ride were such a delight. When Santa boarded the train, he went to a couple and paused. Out of his velvet costume, he pulled a small box and the man got on his knees and proposed to the woman with him, making the ride complete with fantasy, fun, and memories for all. We clapped and ooooohhhed and ahhhhed at the proposal. Usually, you only see these on YouTube or the news; you don’t often get to experience such romance in person.

They say that Christmas is for children and that we are all children on Christmas day. Two middle aged adults, following the path of fantasy and pretend to an imaginary pace prove just that!