 Meaning of Song 12 Days of CHRISTmas (53 views) Subscribe   
  From:  David (DavidABrown)    11/30/2001 11:02 am  
To:  ALL   (1 of 7)  
 
  282.1  
 
The Song: The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

A Partridge in a Pear Tree (Jesus on the Cross)
The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on December 25, the first day of Christmas. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, recalling the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered you under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but you would not have it so . . . ." (Luke 13:34)

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Two Turtle Doves
The Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God's self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the Story of God to the world.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Three French Hens
The Three Theological Virtues:  1) Faith, 2) Hope, and 3) Love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Four Calling Birds
The Four Gospels: 1) Matthew, 2) Mark, 3) Luke, and 4) John, which proclaim the Good News of God's reconciliation of the world to Himself in Jesus Christ.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Five Gold Rings
The first Five Books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch:  1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus, 4) Numbers, and 5) Deuteronomy, which gives the history of humanity's sinful failure and God's response of grace in the creation of a people to be a light to the world.

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Six Geese A-laying
The six days of creation that confesses God as Creator and Sustainer of the world (Genesis 1).

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Seven Swans A-swimming
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and 7) compassion (Romans 12:6-8; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Eight Maids A-milking
The eight Beatitudes: 1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2) those who mourn, 3) the meek, 4) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 5) the merciful, 6) the pure in heart, 7) the peacemakers, 8) those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. (Matthew 6:3-10)

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Nine Ladies Dancing
The nine Fruit of the Holy Spirit: 1) love, 2) joy, 3) peace, 4) patience, 5) kindness, 6) generosity, 7) faithfulness, 8) gentleness, and 9) self-control.  (Galatians 5:22)

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Ten Lords A-leaping
The ten commandments: 1) You shall have no other gods before me; 2) Do not make an idol; 3) Do not take God's name in vain; 4) Remember the Sabbath Day; 5) Honor your father and mother; 6) Do not murder; 7) Do not commit adultery; 8) Do not steal; 9) Do not bear false witness; 10) Do not covet. (Exodus 20:1-17)

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Eleven Pipers Piping
The eleven Faithful Apostles: 1) Simon Peter, 2) Andrew, 3) James, 4) John, 5) Philip, 6) Bartholomew, 7) Matthew, 8) Thomas, 9) James bar Alphaeus, 10) Simon the Zealot, 11) Judas bar James.  (Matthew 6:14-16).  The list does not include the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus to the Romans.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Twelve Drummers Drumming
The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed: 1) I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 2) I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3) He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. 4) He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell [the grave]. 5) On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 6) He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 7) I believe in the Holy Spirit, 8) the holy catholic Church, 9) the communion of saints, 10) the forgiveness of sins, 11) the resurrection of the body, 12) and life everlasting. 

-Dennis Bratcher, Copyright  2001, Dennis Bratcher, All Rights Reserved
http://www.cresourcei.org/index.html



David A. Brown
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  From:  David (DavidABrown)    11/30/2001 11:05 am  
To:  ALL   (2 of 7)  
 
  282.2 in reply to 282.1  
 
Source: www.cresourcei.org/index.html
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Dennis Bratcher

The Twelve Days of Christmas are probably the most misunderstood part of the church year among Christians who are not part of liturgical church traditions.  Contrary to much popular belief, these are not the twelve days before Christmas, but in the Western Church are the twelve days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany  (January 6th; the 12 days count from December 25 until January 5). 

The origin of the Twelve Days is complicated, and is related to differences in calendars, church traditions, and ways to observe this holy day in various cultures (see Christmas).  In the Western church, Epiphany is traditionally celebrated as the time the three Wise Men or Magi arrived to present gifts to the young Jesus (Matt. 2:1-12). In some cultures, especially Hispanic and Latin American culture, January 6th is observed as Three Kings Day, or simply the Day of the Kings (la Fiesta de Reyes, el Dia de los Tres Reyes, or el Dia de los Reyes Magos).  Even though December 25th is celebrated as Christmas in these cultures, January 6th is the day for giving gifts. In some places it is traditional to give Christmas gifts for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. In Eastern Orthodox traditions, Christmas is actually celebrated on January 6 and Epiphany is January 19.

The popular song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is often seen as simply a nonsense song for children. Actually, it is a song of Christian instruction with hidden references to the basic teachings of the Faith. Dating to the 16th century religious wars in England, it was a mnemonic device to teach the catechism secretly to youngsters. The "true love" mentioned in the song is not an earthly suitor, but refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person who is part of the Christian Faith. Each of the "days" represents some aspect of the Christian Faith that was important for children to learn.

[Note: Several have questioned the historical accuracy of the origin of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" given above.  It seems that some  have made an issue out of trying to debunk the story, some in the name of historical accuracy and some out of personal agendas. Since then I have tried to corroborate the information through traditional academic historical sources.  While I have no "hard" evidence, several reputable church historians affirm this account as basically accurate. It is certainly possible that the information is legendary or anecdotal. On the other hand, I have found no reliable source to disprove the information either, contrary to what some have claimed. In all honesty by any standard of historical research, that leaves the story likely although unverified .]




David A. Brown
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  From:  Zebra30   12/19/2001 10:33 pm  
To:  David (DavidABrown)    (3 of 7)  
 
  282.3 in reply to 282.2  
 
Hey, that was very good, David! I like your presentation of the meaning of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Very well done! We just had the children's choir do a renditon of what you posted, only they did it in a slightly different way. By the way, MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 
  
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  From:  David (DavidABrown)    12/20/2001 5:24 am  
To:  Zebra30 unread  (4 of 7)  
 
  282.4 in reply to 282.3  
 
Hi Zebra30,

 

A Blessed and Joyous MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy New Year to you too!

 

Thank you for the compliment! I thought the color scheme worked out well myself.

 

Of course the Material is the work of someone else I just posted it.

 

Im sure it is getting confusing for some on this forum as to what I have written and what others have written and I have posted. This is just a personal reminder for me to keep things accurate.

 

The play sounds very exciting!

 

Can you tell me a little more about what they did to tie the two themes together.

 

God Bless You,

David

 



David A. Brown
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  From:  Alex_Anatole (AlexAnatole)   12/20/2001 6:31 am  
To:  David (DavidABrown)    (5 of 7)  
 
  282.5 in reply to 282.2  
 
David, 
<<In Eastern Orthodox traditions, Christmas is actually celebrated on January 6>> 

Sorry. Not true. 

ALL celebrations of Christmas fall on December 25. However, some Christians still use the old Julian calendar for liturgical purposes. Due to the discrepency between the old Julian and modern Gregorian calendars, Julian Dec 25 falls on Gregorian Jan 7. 

Moreover, on Jan 6, Orthodox Christian celebrate Theophany, the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. Orthodoxy has no special celebration of the arrival of the three wise men in Bethlehem. 

Alex 


www.stseraphim.org 
www.delphi.com/orthodoxway 
If you love Jesus, honk x40!
 
  
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  From:  David (DavidABrown)    12/20/2001 1:14 pm  
To:  Alex_Anatole (AlexAnatole)   (6 of 7)  
 
  282.6 in reply to 282.5  
 
Hi Alex,

 

Thanks for the Clarification.

 

It might be helpful to many if you started an Orthodox Thread and posted the Holiday schedule and also any other topics that would be of interest.

 

God Bless You,

David



David A. Brown
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   From:  David (DavidABrown)    12/2/2002 2:56 pm  
To:  ALL   (7 of 7)  
 
  282.7 in reply to 282.6  
 
Rejoice!

Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

tis the CHRISTmas Season once again!

I just wanted to brush off this post from last year.

I hope you enjoy it!

This year Im going to refer to Christmas as CHRISTmas putting Christ back into Christmas giving Jesus back His day!

God Bless you,

David



David A. Brown
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