Sing40King Posted December 23, 2016 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 17 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 388 Content Per Day: 0.14 Reputation: 207 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/30/2016 Status: Offline Birthday: 08/03/2003 Share Posted December 23, 2016 Yesterday for a school assignment I had to research the stories behind Christmas songs. I found the 12 Days of Chruistmas very interesting and thought I'd share it. I do want to add that I am not Catholic. The words had hidden meanings that represented catholic teachings but most represent beliefs held by all Christians. In England, between 1558 and 1829, it was not legal for Catholics to practice their kind of Christianity in public or private. Being a Catholic was treated as a bad crime. If you even owned a Catholic Bible, you could be put in prison! Catholics were stopped from worshipping because King Henry VIII fell out with the Catholic Church and started his own 'Protestant' Church (what is now the Church of England). There were many people who were still Catholics and they worshipped in secret. 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' was written in England at the beginning of this time. Some people think that it was written to help children learn about their Catholic religion. This is why they are repeated. In the carol, the days are supposed to represent special symbols and have hidden meanings, because it was illegal to have anything in writing that would indicate that you were a Catholic. The 12 Days of Christmas refer to the twelve day period that starts with Christmas day and ends on Epiphany (6th January). These are the things the gifts are symbolic of, A Partridge in a Pear Tree: The 'partridge in a pear tree' means God. (In 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', it can also mean Jesus who died on the cross. In ancient times a partridge was often used as mythological symbol of a divine, sacred king. 2 Turtle Doves: are symboloc of the old and new Testaments and the symbol of peace. 3 French Hens: are the Christian Trinity: God the Father, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. (The hens could also mean faith, hope and love - the three gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 13 4 Calling Birds: are the four Gospels in the New Testament of the Bible. (They could also mean the four major Old Testament prophets [Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel] 5 Gold Rings: are the five senses. (They could also mean first five books of the Bible also called the Pentateuch 6 Geese a Laying: are the six days of creation. 7 Swans a Swiming: are the seven liberal arts studied in medieval universities. (They could also mean the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. [1 Corinthians 12:8-11, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4:10-11]) 8 Maids a Milking: are the eight beatitudes, Jesus' teachings on happiness. (Matthew 5:3-10) 9 Ladies Dancing: are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. [Galatians 5:22] 10 Lords a Leaping: Are the 10 Commandments. 11 Pipers Piping: represent eleven thousand who had been martyred (killed) for the Christian faith. (The pipers piping could also mean the eleven faithful disciples of Jesus.) 12 Drummers Drumming: were the twelve disciples of Jesus, the twelve points of the Apostles' Creed, and The 12 tribes Israel. So there you have it. I hope you found it as interesting as I did. I just ask that you not tear this post apart with arguements. I only posted it to be informative. God bless each one and Merry Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angels4u Posted December 23, 2016 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 55 Topic Count: 1,664 Topics Per Day: 0.20 Content Count: 19,764 Content Per Day: 2.38 Reputation: 12,164 Days Won: 28 Joined: 08/22/2001 Status: Offline Share Posted December 23, 2016 11 minutes ago, Sing40King said: Yesterday for a school assignment I had to research the stories behind Christmas songs. I found the 12 Days of Chruistmas very interesting and thought I'd share it. I do want to add that I am not Catholic. The words had hidden meanings that represented catholic teachings but most represent beliefs held by all Christians. In England, between 1558 and 1829, it was not legal for Catholics to practice their kind of Christianity in public or private. Being a Catholic was treated as a bad crime. If you even owned a Catholic Bible, you could be put in prison! Catholics were stopped from worshipping because King Henry VIII fell out with the Catholic Church and started his own 'Protestant' Church (what is now the Church of England). There were many people who were still Catholics and they worshipped in secret. 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' was written in England at the beginning of this time. Some people think that it was written to help children learn about their Catholic religion. This is why they are repeated. In the carol, the days are supposed to represent special symbols and have hidden meanings, because it was illegal to have anything in writing that would indicate that you were a Catholic. The 12 Days of Christmas refer to the twelve day period that starts with Christmas day and ends on Epiphany (6th January). These are the things the gifts are symbolic of, A Partridge in a Pear Tree: The 'partridge in a pear tree' means God. (In 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', it can also mean Jesus who died on the cross. In ancient times a partridge was often used as mythological symbol of a divine, sacred king. 2 Turtle Doves: are symboloc of the old and new Testaments and the symbol of peace. 3 French Hens: are the Christian Trinity: God the Father, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. (The hens could also mean faith, hope and love - the three gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 13 4 Calling Birds: are the four Gospels in the New Testament of the Bible. (They could also mean the four major Old Testament prophets [Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel] 5 Gold Rings: are the five senses. (They could also mean first five books of the Bible also called the Pentateuch 6 Geese a Laying: are the six days of creation. 7 Swans a Swiming: are the seven liberal arts studied in medieval universities. (They could also mean the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. [1 Corinthians 12:8-11, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4:10-11]) 8 Maids a Milking: are the eight beatitudes, Jesus' teachings on happiness. (Matthew 5:3-10) 9 Ladies Dancing: are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. [Galatians 5:22] 10 Lords a Leaping: Are the 10 Commandments. 11 Pipers Piping: represent eleven thousand who had been martyred (killed) for the Christian faith. (The pipers piping could also mean the eleven faithful disciples of Jesus.) 12 Drummers Drumming: were the twelve disciples of Jesus, the twelve points of the Apostles' Creed, and The 12 tribes Israel. So there you have it. I hope you found it as interesting as I did. I just ask that you not tear this post apart with arguements. I only posted it to be informative. God bless each one and Merry Christmas. Very interesting Sing Thanks for posting this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTC Posted December 23, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 18 Topic Count: 200 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 2,795 Content Per Day: 0.64 Reputation: 1,502 Days Won: 1 Joined: 06/25/2012 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/26/1952 Share Posted December 23, 2016 I loved it. It's fun to look into where things come from. I always did wonder about that song. If I was your teacher I'd give you an A+ for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sing40King Posted December 23, 2016 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 17 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 388 Content Per Day: 0.14 Reputation: 207 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/30/2016 Status: Offline Birthday: 08/03/2003 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 3 hours ago, JTC said: I loved it. It's fun to look into where things come from. I always did wonder about that song. If I was your teacher I'd give you an A+ for that. Thank you. This wasn't a graded assignment, just for fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyKay Posted December 24, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 12 Topic Count: 385 Topics Per Day: 0.10 Content Count: 7,692 Content Per Day: 1.92 Reputation: 4,809 Days Won: 3 Joined: 05/28/2013 Status: Offline Share Posted December 24, 2016 Hmmmm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Center4ScientificHumanism Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Great story. I always love to hear the origins of the traditions that we practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisFirst Posted December 29, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 21 Topic Count: 315 Topics Per Day: 0.11 Content Count: 3,491 Content Per Day: 1.25 Reputation: 2,582 Days Won: 3 Joined: 09/25/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted December 29, 2016 I never knew that! Interesting? Thanks S4K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill16652 Posted December 29, 2016 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 3 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 288 Content Per Day: 0.11 Reputation: 312 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/25/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted December 29, 2016 Very interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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