The 12 days of Chrismas

I haven't checked to see if this is actually true, but I like it anyway.




From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.




-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.




-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.




-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.-




-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.




-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.




-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.




-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.




-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.




-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.




-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.




-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.




-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.




So there is your history for today.

Re: The 12 days of Chrismas

Very interesting.
Another thing about Christmas-The abbreviation Xmas for the word Christmas is of Greek origin:the word for Christ in the Greek language begins with the letter Chi which is written as X.

Re: The 12 days of Chrismas

This comes up every year and it is a complete MYTH!

It's origin is in an old "cumulative song" which appears in the book "Mirth without mischief" in 1780. It was originally French and France presecuted Protestants, so there was no need for them to have a 'code'. Furthermore, if it was a catholic 'code', then even reciting it in England would have been dangerous. There are many other reasons to doubt the catholic connection eg. the Partridge wasn't known in England until it was introduced in the late 1700's.

Re: The 12 days of Chrismas

That's interesting, Loretta