05-12-2012, 08:10 PM
1
THE TWELVE days of CHRISTMAS
What does this song mean? EXplanation below.On the twelfth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!
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 love-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 the 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 you hear "the Twelve Days of Christmas" consider how this otherwise non-religious sounding song had its origins in keeping alive the teaching of the Catholic faith.
So now you know!
06-12-2012, 01:09 AM
7
Re: THE TWELVE days of CHRISTMAS
Originally Posted by Jem
->
Well fair play to you Robert, I never would have guessed it had anything to do with religion, although the song never quite made any sense to me, thanks for filling me in.
What set me thinking about the real origins was the number of children's songs which have a story to them. For example "RIng a ring a roses, a pocket full of posies, atishoo, atishoo. WE all fall down, describing the symptoms & death attributable to the killer plagues of the middle ages
06-12-2012, 11:37 AM
10
Re: THE TWELVE days of CHRISTMAS
Robert that was a good story about the 12 days.Apologies if my name got mixed up with the replies.
Here is a version by Jeff Foxworthy
12 days of Christmas
is a redneck version
of this classic christmas song
.
.
http://tinyurl.com/c7cjq3e
.
.
.
|
|
