Sunday Blessings - Camels or Elephants?

Last months when Sonia was here for the Diwali holidays we went shopping in the old city market. It was Diwali night . The shops were brightly decorated with strings of fairy lights and dazzling ornaments. and the traditional earthen lamps called diyas.. People were setting of fire crackers painting the shy with showers of color. And stunning us with noise.

In the middle of the crowded market came an elephant swaying majestically with its mahout on his back.Hindus revere the elephant as a kin of the elephant god Gamesh. Colonel Haati (Jungle Book elephant) extends his trunk towards you obligingly and you are expected to put a few coins into his cupped snout. He then gracefully hands over the loot to his master.Its fun. You can feed him peanuts etc too. As children we loved doing this at fairs , melas, zoos and circuses. Although the towering size of the pachyderm intimidated us a bit. They appeared like moving sky scrapers to us.

Last year the nearby Methodist church was having a Christmas Mela or Fair on its grounds on Christmas Day and elephants and camels were giving rides to kids in the company of clowns and good old Saint Nick. I offered to buy rides for our church children but they were too shy to try them.

I had my camera with me for an opportune photo. So I jumped down from the rickshaw and took some photos. Mr Haati extended his trunk towards me for money as he was trained to do. By the time I got the money out , he had moved on because we were causing a mini traffic jam in the narrow street. Both of us were disappointed.

(The camel photos are from Rajasthan Tourism (India)websites

I like to listen to online Christmas music while working . "We Three Kings of Orient Are" made me wonder what method of transport did the wise men/magi/ or Kings actually take. As depicted on the Christmas cards and illustrations the Bible does not mention camels. Camels were the mode of transport used by important people (today' s private jets) That 's why I suppose camels are associated with the wise men.

I researched some popular misconceptions around Christmas and came up with the following.

Did three kings riding camels come to Jesus’ birth?

The Bible does not say that any kings or camels visited young Jesus.
It does report wise men (“magi”) came, but it does not say how many. None of the early Church Fathers, suggested the magi were kings. Since the word “magi” used in the Bible is plural, there were apparently at least two, and there could have been more—even several more. The Bible simply mentions three costly gifts they presented—gold, frankincense and myrrh, but this does not necessarily indicate the number of magi. There is also no proof of what country these men came from.

Before the arrival of the magi in Bethlehem, Jesus traveled to and from Jerusalem for presentation in the Temple (Luke 2:21-22).Also, the wise men clearly did not visit Jesus when he was still lying in the manger, as is commonly shown on greeting cards and in plays. The magi did not arrive until sometime after Christ’s presentation in the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:22-39).
At this time, Scripture calls Jesus a “child,” not a “baby.” It is possible that little Jesus was walking and talking by then. Based on the calculations of King Herod and the magi (Matthew 2:16), Jesus could been two years old or under. [Learn more: About the “wise men” (magi)]Is th

Is this real???

Never seen a camel ride like this. Looks dangerous to me too. It could be a remixed photo. I wonder how far can the camel walk with all these people on its back. And camels move very oddly . In an undulating movement, the chairs can't stay steady for long. What is th e poor beast 's last straw?

UPDATE on Home Improvement

The painting of the walls is over and from tomorrow we will begin the wood and iron work,. I asked Mama to pick out the colors and she choose Aquamarine for the iron grille and Royal Ivory and Brown for the wood.

Thank you for your prayer s and good wishes. I am healing well.