The Twelve Days of Christmas my favorite and still the best Christmas carol, The lyrics of The Twelve Days of Christmas may have no meaning at all. Its meaning, if it has any, has yet to be satisfactorily explained.
According to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, "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."
A bit of modern folklore claims that the song's lyrics were written as a "catechism song" to help young Catholics learn their faith, at a time when practising Catholicism was criminalized in England (1558 until 1829). There is no primary evidence supporting this claim, and no evidence that the claim is historical, or "anything but a fanciful modern day speculation." The theory is of relatively recent origin. It was first suggested by Canadian English teacher and hymnologist Hugh D. McKellar in a short article, "How to Decode the Twelve Days of Christmas," published in 1979. In a later article published in the music journal The Hymn, he reiterates that the associations are his.The idea was further popularized by a Catholic priest, Fr. Hal Stockert, in an article he wrote in 1982 and posted online in 1995.
Variations in lyrics provide further evidence against the "catechism song" origin. For example, the four Gospels are often described as the "four calling birds," when in fact the phrase "calling birds" is a modern (probably 20th century) phonetic misunderstanding of "colly birds" (blackbirds).
Regardless of the origin of this idea, a number of Christians give the following meanings to the gifts:
| Gift | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| A partridge in a pear tree | Jesus |
| Two turtle doves | The Old and New Testaments |
| Three French hens | The three kings bearing gifts |
| Four calling birds | The four Gospels |
| Five gold rings | The Torah or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament |
| Six geese a-laying | The Six days of creations |
| Seven swans a-swimming | Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit |
| Eight maids a-milking | The eight Beatitudes |
| Nine ladies dancing | Nine fruits of the Holy Spirit |
| Ten lords a-leaping | The Ten Commandments |
| Eleven pipers piping | The eleven faithful Apostles |
| Twelve drummers drumming | The twelve points of the Apostles's Creed |
On the 12th day of Christmas my Blackberry gave to me:
12 dudes I'm blocking,>:O (Angry face)
11 friends just watching,:O ((surprise face)
10 funny D.P's (Display Picture), =D (Laughing)
9 busted barbies,:/ (Huh?)
8 friends complaining,>:/ (Talk to the hand)
7 stalkers stalking, :> (Raised eyebrows)
6 contacts pending,:p (Tongue out)
Fiiiiiiiiiiivvvee RUBBISH Groups;3-| (Not Interested)
4 ugly chics, X_X (Can't watch)
3 borin guys, (=| (Yawn)
2 friend request,:> ( Raised eyebrows)
and a creep who won't stop PINGing meee!!!!!!:p :p :p ( Tongue out 3x)
Wishing Y'all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year...<3 (Heart)
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