Everyone has heard and sung “The Twelve Days of Christmas” but do you know who created it and why people would sing about swans, maids and partridges? The following is from the bulletin of the Church of The Redeemer, Memphis, USA..........

Catholics in England during the period 1558 to 1829 (When Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England) were prohibited from any practice of their faith by law, private or public. It was considered a crime of treason to be a Catholic Christian in unity with the Pope of Rome.

The twelve days of Christmas was written in England as one of the “catechism songs” to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith - a memory aid, during a time when to be caught with anything in writing indicating adherence to the Catholic faith could not only get one imprisoned, it could get one hanged.

The song’s gifts are hidden meanings to the teaching of faith. The ’‘True Love’ mentioned in the song does not refer to an earthly suitor, it refers to God Himself. The ‘me’ who receives the presents refers to every baptised person. The partridge in the pear tree is Jesus Christ.

In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as the mother partridge, which feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, much in memory of the expression of Christ’s sadness over the fate of Jerusalem.

The other symbols mean:-

2 Turtle doves - The old and New Testaments.
3 French hens - Faith, Hope and Charity
4 Calling birds - The four gospels and/or the four Evangelists.
5 Gold rings - The first five books of the Old Testament, the
“Pentateuch” which gives the history of man’s fall
From grace.
6 Geese-a-laying - The six days of creation.
7 Swans-a-swimming - The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the
Seven Holy Sacraments.
8 Maids-a-milking - The eight beatitudes
9 Ladies dancing - The nine fruits of the Holy 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.