O Camel Ye Faithful

Recently, three camels, Timujin, Lena, and Ivan, paid a visit to Salisbury Cathedral in preparation for an extra-special Christmas Eve service which will include the camels, a donkey and puppets making their way up and down the cathedral aisles in a creative re-imagining of the story of the Nativity.

During the service, which will take place at 3.30pm on 24 December, all three camels will be "dressed" in fabrics and their handlers will wear costumes, including fur hats all imported from Beijing.

The aim of the rehearsal was to test the route and ensure the mighty creatures could fit through the doors.

Jilly the donkey, who has played a regular part in the yearly Nativity, was not present as she "needs no rehearsal".

Despite being commonly portrayed in Nativity scenes, camels are not mentioned in Matthew 2:1.

The Bible passage referencing the Magi, often depicted as three kings, simply reads: "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem."

Has this given you any inspiration to include some animals in your service? We’d love to know!