Dec
9
2014
The Twelve Days Of Christmas
Posted in Christmas 2 Comments
The blanket hangs over the wing chair in my living room.
It was a gift many Christmases ago.
It is a cozy throw that can easily be wrapped around you on a cold night.
Wrapped around you or danced upon, depending on your age.
The blanket is designed to look like a windowpane.
There are twelve squares.
Each square depicts an item from the Twelve Days of Christmas song.
Each day represents one gift.
When my youngest daughter was in preschool, she came up with an idea.
As Christmas music was playing, she would pull the blanket off the back of the chair.
She carefully laid it on the floor, making sure every wrinkle was gone.
The wrinkles had to be gone so she could see the pictures.
As the song played, she would jump on each square.
She waited patiently until the next verse, the next gift, before jumping to the next square.
I could hear her giggling in the other room as she sang along.
Little did she know that it helped her practice her counting, forward and backward.
The song, which was never a favorite of mine growing up, took on new meaning.
It became something special when I listened to it through the ears of my little girl.
As most children (and children at heart) sing the song, day five is sung with gusto.
FIVE GOLDEN RINGS!
The Twelve Days of Christmas is a cumulative song.
Each verse is built on top of the previous verses.
Each gift is increasingly grand.
They are given on each of the twelve days of Christmas.
The twelve days start with Christmas Day and ends on January 6.
The song was first published in England in 1780.
Frederic Austin, an English composer, gets the credit for the melody we now sing.
He arranged a traditional folk melody and introduced the five golden rings in 1909.
Each year, the cost of the twelve gifts is reported.
According to the Associated Press the gifts this year have increased a modest 1.4 percent.
Buyers purchasing each item in the song, as they are mentioned, would buy 364 items.
They would spend $116,273 to purchase all the gifts.
The song is sung following the same pattern.
You add one new gift and repeat all the earlier gifts as you sing.
Each verse is one line longer than its predecessor.
My daughter was learning more than she knew as she danced on each blanket square.
The gifts are unique and quite foreign to our modern day tastes.
What does each gift mean?
One theory suggests that children learned catechism through the verses.
An article from Sharefaith Magazine in December 2010 explained that theory.
My “True Love” in the song refers to God. Thus, each of the following gifts are to be understood as gifts from God.
The partridge in a pear tree refers to Jesus Christ on the cross.
The two turtle doves refer to the Old and New Testaments.
The three French hens stand for faith, hope, and love, which are the primary virtues taught in the New Testament.
The four calling birds are the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The five gold rings represent the first five books of the Old Testament, which is called the Pentateuch.
The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation.
The seven swans a-swimming represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophecy, serving, exhortation, teaching, contribution, leadership, and mercy.
The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes.
The nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The ten lords a-leaping stand for the Ten Commandments.
The eleven pipers piping represent the 11 faithful disciples.
The twelve drummers drumming symbolize the 12 points of doctrine from the ancient Apostle’s Creed.
The cumulative aspect of the song is also something we find in God’s Word.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ . (2 Peter 1:5-8)
Possess these qualities in increasing measure.
The cumulative aspect of the gift.
We long to be effective and productive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That is a gift of immeasurable value.
Something to dance and sing about, don’t you think?
I love the meaning of the 12 days in this version!
Sue,
I do as well. It gives an interesting perspective and richer meaning to a song we have been singing for many years.
Gina