Saturday night as Jo and I were sitting in the living room she asked me if I had heard the story of The Twelve Days of Christmas. I told her I had but couldn’t tell her exactly what they meant. She then read it to me. I had her send it to me via text so I could retype it here for you.
The song was written by Catholics in England as a song to teach their children about the Christian faith. “True love” refers to God. “Me” refers to every Christian. The other symbols mean the following:
- 1 Partridge in a pear tree= Jesus Christ
- 2 Turtle Doves= the Old and New Testaments
- 3 French Hens= Faith, Hope and Love or the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
- 4 Calling Birds= the Four Gospels
- 5 Golden Rings= first 5 books of the OT
- 6 Geese-A-Laying= the 6 days of creation
- 7 Swans-A-Swimming= the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit (I cor. 12:8-10)
- 8 Maids-A-Milking= the 8 Beatitudes
- 9 Ladies Dancing= the 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)
- 10 Lords-A-Leaping= the 10 Commandments
- 11 Pipers Pipers= Eleven Apostles, not Judas
- 12 Drummers Drumming= The Twelve points of Doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed
So there you have it. Brings a whole new meaning to a seemingly fun and mundane and nonsensical song. Now you can teach it to others!!
Thanks so much for the history of the song, Bill. I had heard it long ago, but had forgotten all the meanings.
Blessings!
You’re welcome. I was in the same boat.
Wow, I didn’t know that! That’s so cool!
Hey there Zee! So good to hear from you! Hope you and Sam and the kids are doing well.
Fascinating!
We never stop learning something new, do we …
So true Linda. I never want to stop
How have I never heard this? Wow. Very interesting. Thanks for typing it up for us, Bill!
You are more than welcome Lisa! Glad I was able to share something new.