The Coming of Christmas
The earth has grown old with its burden of care,
But at Christmas it always is young;
The heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair,
And its soul, full of music, breaks forth on the air
When the song of the angels is sung.
It is coming, Old Earth, it is coming tonight!
On the snowflakes which cover thy sod
The feet of the Christ-child fall gentle and white,
And the voice of the Christ-child tells out with delight
That mankind are the children of God.
—Phillip Brooks
The twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6th), which is when the three wise men supposedly arrived on the scene. It is not the twelve days before Christmas, as many erroneously believe. Most people know of The Twelve Days of Christmas from the song of that name, and the song itself has a fascinating history.
There are those who claim it has no religious significance. According to A Celebration and History by Leigh Grant, the written lyrics to "The Twelve Days of Christmas" first appeared in Mirth without Mischief in the early 1780S in England. Its tune apparently dates back much further and came from France. Mirth without Mischief describes "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as a type of memory game played by children at that time. A leader recited the first verse, the next child recited the second verse, and so on until someone missed a verse and had to pay some kind of penalty in the game.
However, other sources claim the song was written with a serious purpose and is more than just a list of twelve silly gifts. Since Catholicism was outlawed in England during the period 1558 to 1829, Catholics were prohibited from practicing their faith either in public or private. It is easy to imagine that this was one of the "catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the basics oftheir faith, a memory aid. Since the song sounded like rhyming nonsense, young Catholics couldsing the song without fear of imprisonment. The song's gifts had hidden meanings. The "truelove" mentioned in the song doesn't refer to an earthly suitor, but to God. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person. The partridge in a pear tree is Christ Jesus. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge in memory of the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing..." (Matthew 23:27).
Here is a complete list of the 12 symbols in "The Twelve Days of Christmas" with their meanings:
| 1 | Partridge in a pear tree | The One true God revealed in the person of Jesus Christ |
| 2 | Turtle Doves | The Old and New Testaments |
| 3 | French Hens | Faith, Hope and Charity |
| 4 | Calling Birds | The Four Gospels |
| 5 | Golden Rings | The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch" |
| 6 | Geese A-laying | Geese A-laying |
| 7 | Swans A-swimming | The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments of the Catholic faith |
| 8 | Maids A-milking | The eight Beatitudes |
| 9 | Ladies Dancing | The nine Fruits of the Spirit |
| 10 | Lords A-leaping | The Ten Commandments |
| 11 | Pipers Piping | The eleven faithful apostles |
| 12 | Drummers Drumming | The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed |
Will you ever be able to sing it again the old way?
Ele Nash
Music Director