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12 Days of Christmas
The Twelve Days of Christmas is
one of the most famous Christmas carols ever written.
It has been sung for a great many years, and is known
the world over. To most it is a delightful hymn, but
it was originally created with a very serious intent.
In England between the years of 1558 and 1829, it was
illegal to practice Catholicism in public or private.
It was essentially a crime to be Catholic in England
during those years.
The Twelve Days of Christmas was written to help preserve
the traditions of the Catholic faith during the years
that Catholicism was banned in England. The song is
steeped in symbolism, and the fact that it is so well
known throughout the world is a testament to the faith
of the followers of the Catholic doctrine. The symbols
contained in the song are as follows:
1st verse "True Love" refers to God.
2nd verse "2 Turtle Doves" refers to the Old and New
Testaments.
3rd verse "3 French Hens" refers to Faith, Hope, and
Charity.
4th verse "4 Calling Birds" refers to the Four Gospels
or the Four Evangelists.
5th verse "5 Golden Rings" refers to the first five
Books of the Old Testament.
6th verse "6 Geese-a-laying" refers to the six days
of creation.
7th verse "7 Swans-a-swimming" refers to the seven
sacraments.
8th verse "8 Maids-a-milking" refers to the eight
beatitudes.
9th verse "9 Ladies dancing" refers to the nine fruits
of the Holy Spirit.
10th verse "10 Lords-a-leaping" refers to the Ten
Commandments.
11th verse "11 Pipers piping" refers to the eleven
faithful apostles.
12th verse "12 Drummers drumming" refers to the twelve
points of the Apostles creed.
I love this song. It is, by far, my favorite Christmas
carol. I had no idea about the symbols contained in
the song, until I googled the song lyrics one afternoon.
I find it very interesting that a song we all know so
well could contain so many hidden meanings. I would
never have guessed that it was anything more than lovely
Christmas carol. Its always nice to learn something
new, especially about the wonderful celebration of Christmas.
I hope you learned something, too. Merry Christmas to
all, and to all a good night!
About the author:
Catherine Spelling absolutely loves spending Christmas
with family and friends. When she is not counting down
the days until Christmas, she writes for christmaslightsanddecorations.com/
- an online resources for all things relating to Christmas
and decorations, with information about Garland,
and Ornaments.
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