A Christmas History Lesson
Each Christmas season one of the most popular things to do at Christmas parties, whether for adults or children, is to try to remember the lyrics to the well-loved song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Most people think of it as a delightful, fanciful song featuring gifts, that we would have no use for today, from an admirer.
There has been much speculation about the meaning of the song, but there is no hard evidence to support either the side that it has a religious connotation or that it is simply a fun, secular song. We’ll look at both sides and you can choose to believe one or the other or just continue to enjoy this seasonal favorite as you have in the past.
We’ll start with the side that says it is religious in theme. Between 1558 and 1829 the practice of Catholicism was prohibited in England. It was illegal, really a serious crime, to practice the faith even in private. To help preserve the traditions of Catholicism during these years, “The Twelve Days of Christmas “was written as a memory help for young children learning the catechism.
Those who believe it to be a religious song see it being full of symbolism. They further believe that the popularity of the song world- wide is an indicator that it points to the faithfulness of Catholics to the doctrine of Catholicism. One interpretation of the symbols is as follows:
1st verse – “True Love” refers to God.
2nd verse – “2 Turtle Doves” refers to the division of the Bible into 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: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
5th verse – “5 Golden Rings” refers to the first five Books of the Old Testament.: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy
6th verse – “6 Geese-a-laying” refers to the six days of creation:
Day 1 God created the Earth,
Day 2 God separated water from the air
Day 3 God created the land and plants.
Day 4 God created the stars and the sun.
Day 5 God created fish and birds
Day 6 God created land animals and man
7th verse – “7 Swans-a-swimming” refers to the seven sacraments: Baptism, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick
8th verse – “8 Maids-a-milking” refers to the eight beatitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
9th verse – “9 Ladies dancing” refers to the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control
10th verse – “10 Lords-a-leaping” refers to the Ten Commandments:
1. Do not worship other gods.
2. Do not worship idols.
3. Do not misuse God’s name.
4. Keep the Sabbath holy.
5. Honor your father & mother.
6. Do not murder.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not lie.
10. Do not covet.
11th verse – “11 Pipers piping” refers to the eleven faithful apostles:
Simon Peter
James
John
Andrew
Philip
Thomas
Bartholomew
Matthew
James
Simon Zelotes
Judas
12th verse – “12 Drummers drumming” refers to the twelve points of the Apostle’s creed.
- I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth, - and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
- Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary, - suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell
5 The third day He arose again from the dead;
6 He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
7 I believe in the Holy Ghost;
8 the holy catholic church;
9 the communion of saints;
10 the forgiveness of sins;
11 the resurrection of the body;
12 and the life everlasting.
Now for the side that contends that ”The Twelve Days of Christmas is just a great seasonal song that has nothing with the Catholic Church. The song was first published in 1780 in England, but textual evidence points towards its having originated in France. Even so, it is considered an English carol. There are three known French versions of the song. If the English version with the “partridge in a pear tree” is taken literally, then it’s almost a foregone conclusion that the song came from France since the partridge that more frequently perches in trees than the grey partridge native to England is the red-legged or French partridge. The red-legged was successfully introduced in England just a few years before it was first published.
It is widely accepted that the twelve days in the song refer to the days between Christmas Day and the Feast of the Epiphany.
Even though the precise origins of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” are unknown, a strong possibility of its origin is a Twelfth Night game. Known as a memories and forfeits game, it was played by a leader reciting a verse and each player repeating it. The leader then added another verse and so on until a player couldn’t repeat it. That player then had to pay a penalty such as giving a sweet or a kiss. The earliest known printed version of this game appeared in a children’s book, Mirth without Mischief, published in England sometime around 1780. In 1880, Lady Gomme, a collector of folktales and nursery rhymes, described playing the same game on the Twelfth Day night before eating mince pies and twelth cake.
Many believe if “The Twelve Days of Christmas” has any meaning it still needs to be satisfactorily explained. This quote from The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes sums it up for those who take the side that it has no religious meaning: “Suggestions have been made that the gifts have significance, as representing the food or sport for each month of the year. Importance [certainly has] long been attached to the Twelve Days, when, for instance, the weather on each day was carefully observed to see what it would be in the corresponding month of the coming year. Nevertheless, whatever the ultimate origin of the chant, it seems probable [that] the lines that survive today both in England and France are merely an irreligious travesty.
The variations in lyrics provide further evidence against the “catechism song” origin. For example, the four Gospels often are described as the “four calling birds,” when in fact the phrase “calling birds” is a modern phonetic misunderstanding of “colly birds” (blackbirds).
Whichever side you take you can still enjoy a favorite Christmas song that is a favorite of millions. Merry Christmas to one and all!
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Filed under Christmas Traditions by on Oct 3rd, 2010. 
Many parents love to see the joy and excitement Santa Claus can bring to their child. For many people, their childhood memories of Santa Claus are the best Christmas memories they have. Keeping your child believing in Santa, however, can be a daunting task. Children are smart these days, and some of the old Santa tricks just don’t get by them anymore. Many children are perpetually plagued with the question, “Is there a Santa Claus?”
Every family may have slightly different Christmas traditions with regards to Santa Claus, but there are some very easy things any person can do to keep the belief in Santa at an all time high. The following 7 techniques will keep your child believing in the magic and wonderment of Santa Claus and you don’t have to be familiar with the history of Santa Claus to apply them.
1) Have your child write a Santa Letter. This can be a simple letter that your child can write to Santa Claus. Children absolutely love to write a letter to Santa, but they occasionally need a little parental guidance to pull it off.
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Help your child include a special list of gifts they desire for Christmas into the Santa letter. Many children enjoy getting more creative by drawing or cutting out pictures that represent the gifts they want.
- Catch Santa Claus in your house Click
Once the child’s Santa letter is finished, simply mail it to the North Pole. Mail it to the following Santa Claus address: Santa Claus, 1 Candy Cane Lane, North Pole 00001. Don’t bother using a return address, you wouldn’t want it to return as ‘undeliverable’ for any reason.
2) Write a Letter from Santa and have your child receive it in the mail. Create a personalized letter from Santa by directly mentioning your child’s name and certain information about your child in the text. This will make for a much more believable Santa letter. Be sure to make these letters from Santa different for each child in the same household. The child will have no doubt that Santa Claus is coming to town after they receive their personalized letter from Santa!
“I can honestly state as a parent that the personalized letter from Santa has single handedly restored my son’s belief! The look of shock and amazement on his face when he got an ‘authentic letter from Santa’ quickly abolished any doubt he previously had about Santa Claus.”
Print the Santa letter on authentic looking letterhead, as this will help to reinforce the believability. Many different styles of paper can be found at your local office supply store.
You can add to the fun by getting your letter from Santa postmarked at the North Pole. Simply send your Santa letter inside another sealed, stamped envelope to: North Pole Christmas Cancellation, Postmaster, 5400 Mail Trail, Fairbanks, AK 99709-9999. (It needs to arrive by December 15th)
Many parents add a certificate for being on Santa’s “Nice List” along with the Santa Letter for added effect. Another great item to add with the Santa letter is a Santa Claus coloring sheet. Combining the personalized Santa letter, the nice certificate, and the Santa Claus coloring sheet is a sure fire method for keeping your child believing.
3) Have your child leave milk and cookies out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. This is simple enough to do with your child. It lets your child know YOU still believe, too. Make it a bonding experience for you and your child by baking the cookies together on Christmas Eve. Don’t underestimate how powerful this can be for creating joyful memories of Santa Claus, for both you and your child. Did you know that Santa’s favorite cookie recipe is Chocolate Chip?
Put the fresh cookies on a plate next to a glass of cold milk. You can even put a short letter to Santa Claus next to the cookies and milk. These tasty treats will give Santa the energy he needs to continue traveling to the millions of other households awaiting his arrival.
Don’t forget to leave some crumbs on the table Christmas morning. Your child will feel honored that Santa Claus ate the whole plate of cookies and drank all of the milk before rushing on his way.
4) On Christmas Eve, have your child sprinkle reindeer food on the lawn. Santa Claus gets milk and cookies on Christmas Eve, but what about Rudolph and the rest of the joyful gang? What do they eat? Well, reindeer food, of course!
You can make a batch of environmentally friendly reindeer food with common grocery items such as oats or granola. (Do not use potentially hazardous items, such as glitter in your reindeer food. Although this may make the reindeer food appear to be magical in some way, it can be extremely dangerous if ingested by small children, should they decide to ‘sample’ the reindeer food. It can also be potentially hazardous to the small animals outside such as rabbits, dogs, or cats that may eat the food.)
Once you have the reindeer food mixed up, walk outside with your child on Christmas Eve night and explain the importance of making sure Santa’s sleigh team stays fed. Sprinkle a small amount onto your yard near bushes or trees.
This healthy reindeer snack will give Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer the nourishment they need to continue flying Santa’s heavy sleigh into the night. Your child will be proud for helping Santa Claus on his journey, and is sure to raise the belief in Rudolph and the other reindeer as well.
5) Leave Santa Claus tracks in your house on Christmas Eve. Being sure to not stain your carpet, leave some dirty boot prints by the fireplace (or doorway). Be sure to draw attention to the Santa Claus footprints on Christmas morning. To a child, this is solid evidence that Santa had been to their house.
6) A month or so after Christmas, send your child a postcard from Santa Claus on vacation. This not only keeps your child believing, but reminds your child that Santa is in their hearts all year long. It also answers the common question posed by children after Christmas, “Where is Santa Claus now?”
Be sure to make the postcard from somewhere very warm and sunny. After all, Santa does need a break from all that North Pole snow.
7) Mail your child a birthday greeting from Santa Claus. This technique works in tandem with the personalized Santa Letter you mailed your child previously. Mailing your child a simple birthday card from Santa is an excellent way to keep your child’s belief high throughout the year. Your child will think, “Wow! Santa actually knows my birthday!” The shock on your child’s face will be priceless.
Parents that have extremely intelligent kids or kids that are getting slightly older will genuinely need to utilize all 7 techniques mentioned above to keep their child believing in Santa Claus.
These techniques will assure your child is one of the millions of children that write Santa Letters each and every holiday season… one of the millions of children that believe wholeheartedly in Santa Claus. Or See This Page letter from Santa!
Filed under Santa Letters by on Oct 4th, 2010.