h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Following is copied from the web...apparently this is the origin of The 12 Days of Christmas:

In the not-so-tolerant past, music and poetry were often used as media of expression for ideas that were not in fashionable with the contemporary powers that be. Mother Goose rhymes were disguised political commentaries of their day. The Twelve Days of Christmas was written along similar lines.

The English began writing Christmas carols in the 15th century, but when the Puritans came to power in England, they suppressed Christmas and Christmas carols. From 1558 to 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. After Christmas was restored in England, festive songs praising feasting and good will developed. But during this time, Catholics in England could not openly practice their faith. The only legal church in England was the state (Anglican) church. To teach their children basic doctrine, Catholic parents used nonsense songs that would not raise the suspicions of the non-Catholics around them, but would remind the children of their.

Here is the meaning of the symbols in "The Twelve Days of Christmas":

 "On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me" -- The first day of the Christmas celebration is counted from December 26, the day after Christmas, to January 6, the traditional day for celebrating the coming of the wise men to worship Jesus.

 Instead of referring to a suitor, the "true love" mentioned in the song refers to God. God is the one who gives all of these wonderful gifts to "me."

 The "me" receiving the presents is symbolic of every baptized person.

 The partridge was chosen as a reminder of Christ. A mother partridge will feign injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings. She will literally give her life for her children. The pear tree is a reminder of the cross.

 Two turtle doves: The Old and New Testaments. Two great gifts which each Christian receives.

 Three french hens: During the 16th century, only the rich could afford these costly birds. These represent the three great gifts of faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

 Four calling birds: The four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John, which speak of Jesus.

 Five gold rings: The first five books of the Old Testament or the Torah. These books were treated by the Jews with great reverence and considered worth more than gold (Psalm 19:10).

 Six geese a laying: Eggs are an almost universal symbol of new life. The laying geese stand for the six days of creation. God spoke the word and brought forth life.

 Seven swans a-swimming: The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:6-8): prophesy, service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, mercy.

 Eight maids a-milking: The eight Beatitudes of Jesus (Matthew 5:3-10) nourish us as milk does.

 Nine ladies dancing: The nine fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23): love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

 Ten lords a-leaping: Lords were men who had authority in people's lives. The lords are The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17).

 Eleven pipers piping: The eleven apostles that remained faithful to Jesus and people joyfully followed their message.

 Twelve drummers drumming: The twelve vital beliefs that set us apart as Christians found in the Apostles' Creed:

Well, I guess that answers that then.

yep, 'origin'al, but nevertheless not very exciting...I prefer to imagine lords and ladies with body piercings milking dancing cows..eh?

Spoken like a true artist!!

In your description of the origin you refer to the Torah. Considering the mistrust (to say the least) with which Jews were regarded, I find it more than a little surprising that their religious work should find it's way into a Catholic carol. Plus the fact that a lot of Christmas carols date from earlier than the 15th century, starting life as folk songs sung in the winter festivals and gradually becoming Christian hymns. 'The Holly and The Ivy' is a case in point. It started out as an affirmation that life survived the long winter period with lines for 'The Ivy' to match the 'Now the holly bears ...' Gradually the lines about the Ivy were dropped / changed and the song became a hymn.

Ooh, controversy - state your sources Fierce, we need to know.

Anyway, In Middle England I've only ever heard a version that has the last few items in a different order, the only one I can remember is that the Lords come last. How does this square with the descriptions as given? Or is the version in the States (I'm assuming that's the one reproduced here) nearer the 'original' and we've drifted wayward? There's dirty work afoot. By the way, does this fabled source also explain the significance of the year 2000? Or, indeed 23?

Controversy is good, in moderation.

http://www.new-life.net/twelve.htm

Not *my* description...please...as I said at the beginning of that post, this information was copied from the web...from a religious site. So perhaps that's where to direct the bone of contention. I'm not hungry right now anyway. I surfed the web looking for the origin of the carol and that is what I found. I'm not religious at all. But I found a number of sites which all stated the same origin for the carol. Only trying to be helpful, eh?

But I am glad it has sparked off some debate!

Yours in fervent ferocity xx

In the International Express newspaper dated 23/11/99 this question was asked. "Why do we refer to 'calling birds' in the song The Twelve Days Of Christmas and where do the other items mentioned in the lyrics come from”? The answer was:

The term 'calling birds' in the carol is a deviation from the original ‘colly’ or ‘collie bird. Colly means 'black' and came from the word for coal. Hence, the four colly birds in the carol refer to blackbirds. However the carol has a hidden meaning. During the 16th Century, British Catholics were not allowed to practise their faith. In order to teach their children the basic doctrines, they made up nonsense songs in order to avoid arousing the suspicions of non-Catholics around them.

A partridge in a pear tree – Jesus and the cross.
Two turtle doves – the Old and New testaments
Three French hens – expensive in the 1500s and so symbolised the three gifts bought by the Three Wise Men. They could also depict the three virtues – Faith, Hope and Charity.
Four calling birds – the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Five gold rings – the first five books of the Old Testament.
Six geese a-laying – referring to the six days of the creation.
Seven swans a-swimming – seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:6-8).
Eight maids a-milking – these refer to the eight blessings listed in Matthew 5:3-10. (Blessed are the poor&#8230.
Nine ladies dancing – the nine fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
Ten Lords a-leaping – The Ten Commandments.
Eleven pipers piping – The 11 faithful apostles.
Twelve drummers drumming – The Apostle’s Creed (I believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth&#8230.

After that I need a beer

Certainly ties in with what Fierce was saying. I believe you,

Does anyone know any Latin, because I was told (I don't know when or by who) that the song was originally Latin. Only the priests could understand Latin and led the singing until services were held in English - at which point people carried on singing the song without knowing the meaning - and so the words morphed into gibberish that sounded vaguely like the original. (A partridge in a pear tree - domino patri?)

It sounded reasonable to me anyway, but this is an old thread...

I read somewhere that it was pagan... Da Vinci Code I think.