The Top Secret Jesus Float made its debut about 8:30 Friday night, half an hour into Denver’s annual Parade of Lights. The rolling nativity scene, which, according to news reports, had been constructed “at an undisclosed location,” passed the reviewing stand as part of a glittering sea of stagecoaches, cowboys, railroad trains, Nutcracker Suites, carousels and Santa sleds made of lights.
The Christ child also shared the downtown streets with high school bands, flag girls on roller skates, a dance team in silver go-go boots and red mini-skirts, a woman undulating a flaming hula hoop around her waist, men in German lederhosen, Japanese drummers, Mexican dancers, a Chinese dragon, elves, the giant blue Jumping Jack Cash kangaroo balloon, the Geek Squad in VW Beetles adorned with antlers and the names of Santa’s reindeer, as well as dozens of live horses followed by – you guessed it – men with rolling trash cans and shovels.
The Top Secret Jesus Float was beautiful. It included Mary and Joseph and shepherds and wise men and angels and palm trees and a stable and a sheep and a donkey and a manger and, of course, Baby Jesus, who was barely visible among all the accouterments. But everybody got the idea, especially because a sign on the side of the stable read, “He will be called Emmanuel, God is with us.”
The crowd cheered loudly for the first religious-themed float allowed in the parade in 31 years.
Clearly, the Jesus float deserved to be in the Parade of Lights. Clearly, it was stupid that a coalition of churches had to fight parade organizers to get the float in.
Just as clearly, it was silly to think the thousands of people lining the streets would suddenly become evangelical converts, washed clean of commercialism by the sight of a live crèche on wheels.
The float did a great job reminding everyone that Jesus is the reason for the season. But he was not the reason folks showed up for the Parade of Lights. I talked to kids and adults for the better part of an hour before the parade. I found one couple, Dolores and Michael Abramovitz of Thornton, who would not have come if there had been no Jesus float.
That’s because Christmas parades are not by their nature church services. That doesn’t make them sacrilege. It just makes them secular.
Nobody is going to convince me that the excited innocents I interviewed along the Bannock Street barricades are heretics, any more than most people are going to stop shopping at department stores because greeters say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”
“I’m going to see Rudolph and Santa Claus,” 4-year-old Johnathan Ochtera of Denver announced happily as he peered between metal bars that held hundreds of giddy little ones at bay.
“I’m here because I want to see the unicorn,” chimed in Johnathan’s twin sister, Jeannine.
Wanda Pacheco is 23. She came for the sixth year and brought her 19-month-old daughter, Paola, for the reason she always comes: “To see the lights.”
Mark Tapia of Denver wrapped his year-old son, Dion, in the modern version of swaddling clothes and brought him to see the twinkle. Standing beside the baby, Tapia’s 16-year-old son Tony hoped to ogle some “cheerleaders.” Tony didn’t have to wait long. Pompom pumpers were third in the order of march.
Jessica Alexander of Denver enjoyed her 16th Parade of Lights Friday. Her 6-year-old twins, Andre and Jada, have been coming since they could walk.
Four-year-old Jacentha Scurlock showed up for the first time with her sister, Jahlil, 8, and her 6-year-old cousin and “best friend,” Rajeanna. Jacentha had one question:
“Where’s Santa Claus?”
He was at the end of the parade. The grand finale. The big deal.
St. Nick rode high above the street on a float that was a huge sled adorned with thousands of tiny white lights. Dozens of elves danced to hip-hop music on the road in front of him.
Children squealed. They surged to the curb or climbed on their parents’ shoulders for a better look. They waved, sometimes frantically.
“Santa, hello, Santa,” shouted 5-year-old Zoe Bailey of Thornton, hoping to attract a look from a right jolly old elf.
I’m not ready to call children like Zoe or their parents heathen. I’m not ready to call them misguided. Whatever their religious faiths might be, I suspect most of them understand why we celebrate this time of year.
On the other hand, they also prove something else:
Putting Christ in a Christmas parade is always going to be different than putting Christ in Christmas.
Jim Spencer’s column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 303-820-1771 or jspencer@denverpost.com
