[ARC5] A Southern Christmas Story

[releazer at earthlink.net]

This took place in Columbia SC, in a small Southern Baptist Church located in an old mill village. 

The Church had planned a Christmas Pageant, which would include a chorus of children quoting scripture.  At one point the children were to say, "The baby Jesus was born in a manger and was wrapped in swaddling clothes.  But at rehearsal  the children said, "The baby Jesus was born in a manger and a rat swallowed his clothes."  The adults explained the correct quote, but the children discussed it among themselves, and decided that they had never heard of swaddling clothes, but it seemed to them that a child born in what was essentially a barn would indeed be at risk of having his garments consumed by rodents.  So, notwithstanding current Southern Baptist dogma, they were going with the Rat interpretation of the scripture.

And so the pageant proceeded, and the Rat interpretation may well persist in that same church to this day.

Merry Christmas!

Wayne
WB5WSV