Twelve Days of Christmas

As the Christmas season is on the way, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is heard everywhere. The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, is a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. In Western Christianity, Christmas begins on December 25th and ends on January 5th. These 12 days of Christmas mark the amount of time it took after the Birth of Jesus for the Magi to travel to Bethlehem for the Epiphany when they recognized him as the son of God.

Christians who celebrate "The Twelve Days of Christmas" may give gifts on each of The Twelve Days representing a wish for a corresponding month of the New Year.

"The 12 Days of Christmas" is also a Christmas carol in which the singer brags about all the cool gifts they received from their "true love" during the 12 days of Christmas. Although the first published version of this song was in England, there are three older versions of the song in French and one other version from Scotland. 

The gifts with their supposed symbolism are:

1. A partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus - the partridge because it’s a bird that will sacrifice its life to save its children. 
2. Two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testaments.
3. Three french hens represent faith, hope, and love.
4. Four calling birds represent the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 
5. Five gold rings represent the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch," which gives the history of man's fall from grace.
6. Six geese a-laying represent the six days of creation.
7. Seven swans a-swimming represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments.
8. Eight maids a-milking represent the eight beatitudes.
9. Nine ladies dancing represent the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit.
10. Ten lords a-leaping represent the ten commandments.
11. Eleven pipers piping represent the eleven faithful apostles.
12. Twelve drummers drumming represent the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed.

 Counting the total number of each gift

• She gets 1 partridge in a pear tree on each of the 12 days.                                1 X 12 = 12
• She gets 2 turtle doves in the last 11 days.                                                           2 X 11 = 22
• She gets 3 french hens in the last 10 days.                                                           3 X 10 = 30
• She gets 4 calling birds in the last 9 days.                                                            4 X 9   = 36
• She gets 5 gold rings in the last 8 days.                                                                5 X 8   = 40
• She gets 6 geese a-laying in the last  7 days.                                                        6 X 7   = 42
• She gets 7 swans a-swimming in the last 6 days.                                                 7 X 6   = 42
• She gets 8 maids a-milking in the last 5 days.                                                      8 X 5   = 40
• She gets 9 ladies dancing in the last 4 days.                                                         9 X 4   = 36
• She gets 10 lords a-leaping in the last 3 days.                                                      10 X 3  = 30
• She gets 11 pipers piping in the last 2 days.                                                           11 X 2  = 22
• She gets 12 drummers drumming on the last day.                                                12 X 1  = 12

Total gifts received                                                                                                                       364

How are you going to celebrate this Christmas? Please leave a comment below.