Category: HOLIDAYS

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly.  Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.

It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality
which the children could remember.

• The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
• Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
• Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
• The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
• The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
• The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
• Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit–Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
• The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
• Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit–Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
• The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
• The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
• The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol…so pass it on if you wish.’

Merry (Twelve Days of) Christmas Everyone – and, remember, the Twelve Days of Christmas are the 12 days following December 25th.  The Christmas Season runs until Epiphany, January 6.

Tra·di·tion~noun
[from Latin trāditiō a handing down, surrender, from trādere to give up, transmit, from trans- + dāre to give]
1: an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom) b : a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable
2: the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction
3: cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions
4: characteristic manner, method, or style
5: The passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation, especially by oral communication.
6: A mode of thought or behavior followed by a people continuously from generation to generation; a custom or usage.
7: A set of such customs and usages viewed as a coherent body of precedents influencing the present: followed family tradition in dress and manners.
8: A body of unwritten religious precepts.
9: A time-honored practice or set of such practices.
10: the handing down from generation to generation of the same customs, beliefs, etc., esp by word of mouth.
11: the body of customs, thought, practices, etc., belonging to a particular country, people, family, or institution over a relatively long period.
12: a specific custom or practice of long standing
-tra·di·tion·al~adjective
-tra·di·tion·al·ly~adverb
-tra·di·tion·less~adjective
-traditionist~noun