"The 12 Days of Christmas" ~ Origins and Religious Meaning ~

(This interpretation of the origin - though apparently controversial - is really informative)





"The 12 Days of Christmas"
~ Origins and Religious Meaning ~

Caveat: there is a controversy disputing the authenticity of this interpretation.

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Catholics in England during the period 1558 to 1829 were prohibited by law to practice their faith either in public or private. It was illegal to be Catholic until Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England in 1829.

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as one of the "catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the basics of their faith. In short, it was a coded-message, a memory aid. Since the song sounded like rhyming nonsense, young Catholics could sing the song without fear of imprisonment. The authorities would not know that it was a religious song.

"The 12 Days of Christmas" is in a sense an allegory. Each of the items in the song represents something significant to the teachings of the Catholic faith. The hidden meaning of each gift was designed to help Catholic children learn their faith. The better acquainted one is with the Bible, the more these interpretations have significance.

The song goes, "On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…"

The "true love" mentioned in the song doesn’t refer to an earthly suitor, but it refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person. i.e. the Church.

1st Day:
The partridge in a pear tree is Christ Jesus upon the Cross. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge because she would feign injury to decoy a predator away from her nestlings. She was even willing to die for them.
The tree is the symbol of the fall of the human race through the sin of Adam and Eve. It is also the symbol of its redemption by Jesus Christ on the tree of the Cross.

2nd Day:
The "two turtle doves" refers to the Old and New Testaments.

3rd Day:
The "three French hens" stand for faith, hope and charity—the three gifts of the Spirit that abide (1 Corinthians 13).

4th Day:
The "four calling birds" refers to the four evangelists who wrote the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—which sing the song of salvation through Jesus Christ.

5th Day:
The "five golden rings" represents the first five books of the Bible, also called the Jewish Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

6th Day:
The "six geese a-laying" is the six days of creation.

7th Day:
The "seven swans a-swimming" refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.

8th Day:
The "eight maids a milking " reminded children of the eight beatitudes listed in the Sermon on the Mount.

9th Day:
The "nine ladies dancing" were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

10th Day:
The "ten lords a-leaping" represents the Ten Commandments

11th Day:
The "eleven pipers piping" refers to the eleven faithful apostles.

12th Day:

The ‘twelve drummers drumming" were the twelve points of belief expressed in their "Apostles’ Creed": belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, made man, crucified, died and arose on the third day, that he sits at the right hand of the father and will come again, the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting.

So the next time we hear "the Twelve Days of Christmas" consider how this otherwise non-religious sounding song had its origins in keeping alive the teaching of their faith.

adapted from email messages,from "How To Decode the Twelve Days of Christmas,"by Hugh D. McKellar,U.S. Catholic, 12/1979,and from "‘12 Days of Christmas’ is no nonsense, but a serious riddle"by David CrowderEl Paso Times, 12/19/1993.Also, Origin of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"An Underground Catechismby Fr. Hal Stockert 12/17/95 http://www.cin.org/twelvday.html

...she dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered.

A good Christmas message...
author ~ unknown

"I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: 'There is no Santa Claus,' she jeered. 'Even dummies know that!'
My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.
Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. 'No Santa Claus!' she snorted. 'Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go.'
'Go? Go where, Grandma?' I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous, cinnamon bun. 'Where' turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything.
As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. 'Take this money,' she said, 'and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car.' Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.
I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's second-grade class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough, and he didn't have a coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. 'Is this a Christmas present for someone?' the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.


'Yes,' I replied shyly. 'It's for Bobby.' The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry
Christmas. That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked
it in her Bible) and wrote, 'To Bobby, From Santa Claus' on it --
Grandma said, 'Santa always insists on secrecy.' Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. 'All right, Santa Claus,' she whispered, 'get going.'


I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.
Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.


I still have the Bible, with the tag tucked inside: $19.95."

author - unknown
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He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree.

Oh! No! - Not Disco!

(scroll down and pause the Playlist before starting)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Greetings from South Africa - Arlo / Sandy Mickelsen

----- Original Message -----
From: Arlosandy
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 8:03 AM
Subject: Christmas Greetings from South Africa



Christmas Greetings from South Africa


From home to home, and heart to heart.
From one place to another,
The warmth and joy of Christmas,
Brings us closer to each other.

Emily Matthews


The words in the above poem say it all and how wonderful it is to have a season that allows us to renew the warmth and joy we find in our friendships! The holidays are truly upon us, and it just doesn't seem possible. The usual comment is, “Where has the year gone?” and we concur with that. Especially this year, as our holiday greetings need to come early for a special reason!


The Mickelsen's have received a mission call to serve in the South Africa Durban Mission for the next 18 months as Perpetual Education Fund missionaries. Our call came the middle of July and we have been busy since with all the preparations that a foreign call brings, but now we are ready and anxious to go. For those of you who don't know what the PEF is, we refer you to the Ensign, August 2008, page 76. Our entry date for the MTC is November 17th, where we will be for 10 days. Thanksgiving will be celebrated with lots of family and then on the 29th we will begin a very long plane ride (Salt Lake City – Chicago – London – Johannesburg – Durban) -- somewhere around 36 hours!!

There are 11 fantastic grandchildren in our family who keep their fantastic parents busy with all their school, church, music and sports activities.

Arlo served on the High Council and as our Homeowners Association President this past year and Sandy has coordinated the Humanitarian Projects for our branch.

As we bring this letter to a close, we send our love and friendship to you all. At this time of year, we are mindful of the birth of Jesus Christ and the sacrifices He made for us. Our past missionary service brought and continues to bring tremendous blessings to us and our family, and we are looking forward to this new opportunity to be of use to our Savior . Our prayers are for a wonderful Christmas season for each of you.

P.S. Some of you will receive this letter via e-mail and others by snail mail since we don't have e-mail addresses for everyone. If you have one, please let us know. Postage is expensive to and from South Africa, so we hope you will send us your Christmas greetings via internet! Our e-mail is arlosandy@aol.com and we will have a blog (http://arlosandy.blogspot.com) as soon as we officially begin our mission, if anyone is interested. We'll be back in St. George sometime in May, 2010

P.P.S. This letter was written and to have gone out before entering the MTC and it just didn't happen. This is being sent from Johannesburg, South Africa where we are having additional training in this truly inspired Perpetual Education Fund program, before going on to Durban.

You can find additional information on the church website: http:lds.org
then follow through with these links:
Home and Family
Education
Perpetual Fund