What an amazing way to end our Christmas! More to come
Despite the fact that "the gods" tried everything in their power to keep us from getting to Haridwar, we finally arrived (several hours late). Part of the package for staying at Haveli Hari Ganga was that they will escort you down to the Aarti ceremony. I figured I'd sit in the middle of the crowd and take great photos of all these glittering candles. Turns out, the package deal includes being part of the ceremony! We got our own Hindu priest for 30 minutes, recited all sorts of Hindi phrases, used water from the Ganges to wash each others feet and then put our arms on a priest as he held a huge flame and we all chanted the same phrase over and over. Then we put our boat of flowers and candles into the river and watched it float away with all the other glowing candles.
There was all sorts of music and chanting and singing and ringing of bells and other people with priests and people floating candles down the river .... It was an incredible experience - we felt so totally and completely immersed in India and the culture ... we weren't just tourists watching, we were part of it. Soooooooo cool!
And then the priest asked us for money (pressured us for even more)! Yes, this was truly India - "Happy to Kris mass!!!".
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