The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)

The Twelve Days of Christmas

The Twelve Days of Christmas is an English Christmas carol which was published around 1780 but may predate the publication by centuries. It is a cumulative carol. It depicts a succession of gifts given (a variety of birds and five golden rings) and people and activities having to do with a Twelve Days of Christmas feast holiday (from Christmas Day to Epiphany), possibly in a royal court. (There have been claims on social media that) it was written by Catholics in hiding during the days of Queen Elizabeth I of England's persecution. (The claim is that) it was invented (evidence needed of origin) to help teach children articles of the Catholic faith without drawing attention from government officials, using imagery as a tool to help the children remember. (However the articles of faith listed existed in both the Catholic faith and Church of England and this claim appears to be debunked.) The song represents increasingly grand gifts given during each of The Twelve Days of Christmas. In the claim the following meanings were attached: The partridge in a pear tree symbolizes Christ on the Cross. The two turtledoves represent his Human and divine nature, the two books of the Old and New Testament, and the two tablets the Ten Commandments were carved on. The three French hens symbolize the Trinity of the Catholic faith: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, as well as the three Cardinal virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. The four calling birds were the four Evangelists who wrote the gospels, etc. This Christmas song has been subject to parody numerous times and has been covered by multiple musicians, including though not limited to Connie Francis, Natalie Cole, and the Muppets over many years.

Collage

12 drummers
11 pipers
10 lords
9 ladies
8 maids
7 swans
6 geese
5 gold rings
4 calling birds
3 hens
2 turtle doves
partridge in a pear tree

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The Twelve Days Of Christmas (song) Media

Anonymous broadside, Angus, Newcastle, 1774–1825
First page of the carol, from Mirth Without Mischief (c. 1780)
One of the two "Twelve Days of Christmas" Faroe stamps
Illustration of "Twelve Lords a Leaping", from Mirth Without Mischief
Illustration of "five gold rings", from the first known publication of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (1780)
Melody of "The Twelve Days of Christmas", from Austin's 1909 arrangement
Portrait of Frederic Austin
Flourish on the words "Five Gold Rings" in the final verse of Austin's 1909 arrangement of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"
Members of the Navy Sea Chanters sing their comedy version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" on 4 December 2009, at the Wallace Theater, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.