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

"The differences that divided the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Anglican Church were largely ones of emphasis and form, not differences of belief in the scripture." - www.snopes.com

It's explained at http://snopes.com/holidays/xmas/12days.htm that this is one of many urban legends or hoaxes spread over the Internet. It's simply not true that 12 Days was a "secret code" song used to worship Christianity. Why would Anglicans keep Catholics from studying the Bible and learning about Jesus, or vice versa? They're both on the same side. They're just different denominations. Furthermore such interpretations of the numerological significance of the song is vague and unimpressive. I could do the same thing with any general subject matter.

Okay I misspoke. The above is true, in that it wasn't secretive. But of course it's a Christmas song. It's about a religious time. I meant to say it's not some subversive remnant of the past due to discrimination and chastisement of one group of Christians by another. It's just about the twelve days of Christmas.

As I said in the other conversation on 'origin', most Christmas carols, unless specifically written for the Christian church, had their origin as folk songs. These songs were, in some cases, Christianised. It may be that 'Twelve Days of Christmas' escaped this form of religious Bowdlerisation. As to what it means, 'Who cares?'