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Fact
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The days and weeks leading up to the birth of Christ is
traditionally known as the season of Advent or the anticipation of
the Savior's birth. The
Twelve Days of Christmas span the time from
Christmas Eve until the eve of the Epiphany, January 6th.
This is when the Wise Men visited the Christ-child, bearing
their gifts.
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The story behind the lyrics of the Twelve Days of Christmas
is unclear. On the
'net, there are two stories.
As one site claims, (Central Valley Christian, www.cvc.org/christmas/index.htm),
the song was part of a children's game that originated before 1780
in England. According
to author Leigh Grant who wrote "A Celebration and
History," a
work entitled, "Mirth without Mischief" was the first to
refer to it.
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A second source purports that this a Christmas song with as
deep a meaning, albeit subtle, as any Christmas carol is. In 1995, a Father Hal Stockert wrote an article for the Catholic
Information Network explaining the symbolism of each
line. (www.cin.org/twelvday.html)
To give a brief review of his article, Fr. Stockert writes that
this carol was "written in England as one of the catechism
songs to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their
faith." He
asserts that it was composed when the Catholic religion in England
was seriously out-of-favor with the ruling party.
From 1558 - 1829, "Catholics were prohibited from ANY
practice of their faith by law - private or public."
The punishment for the crime of exercising the Catholic
faith could include death. In
the year 1829, Parliament removed the restrictions.
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The Truth as regards many a religious symbol or event, may
forever be clouded in controversy.
Suffice to say that both sources agree that the song
is of early date, that it was written for children and that it was
composed to help them sharpen their memories.
It may very well be that both points of view are not
necessarily mutually exclusive, i.e., that Catholics were
persecuted in England for hundreds of years; that the original
song was a children's song for part of those centuries and that
after 1780, the Catholics resourcefully adopted it as a means of
sustaining their faith
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Though the original of this Christmas song be disputed, let
us relinquish the divisiveness of this point.
Instead of looking backward or standing still
in a quagmire of contention, let us look forward united,
thanking God the Father for the eternal Gift of His Son.
Really, isn't that what Christmas is all about?
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Below are the symbolic meanings given to the song's imagery
at some point in history:
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"My
true love" represents God and His love for us.
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On
the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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A
partridge in a pear tree.
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The
partridge is Jesus Christ. The
Savior is depicted as having towards us a spirit of protectiveness
as illustrated in Matt. 23:37 (KJV): "O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem… how oft would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings…"
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On
the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Two
turtle doves
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are
the Old and New Testaments.
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On
the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Three
French hens
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are
the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.
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On
the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Four
calling birds
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are
the four N.T. gospels/evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
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On
the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Five
golden rings
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are
the first 5 O.T. books or the Pentateuch (also the Books
of Moses).
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On
the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Six
geese a-laying
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are
the Six Days of the Creation of the earth. (Genesis 1)
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On
the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Seven
swans a-swimming
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are
the Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 12:8-11 KJV)
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Wisdom,
knowledge, faith, healing, prophecy, discernment, speaking in
tongues.
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On
the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Eight
maids a-milking
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are
the Eight Beatitudes (see
Matt. 5:3-10 KJV)
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On
the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Nine
ladies dancing
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are
the Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-23 KJV)
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Love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance.
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On
the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Ten
lords a-leaping
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are
the Ten Commandments. (Deut. 5: 7-21 KJV)
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On
the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Eleven
pipers piping
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are
the Eleven Faithful Apostles.
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On
the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
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Twelve
drummers drumming
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are
the Twelve Points of Doctrine in the Apostle's Creed.
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(Editor's
note: My own choice would be: Twelve Tribes of Israel.)
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