Category: Twelve Days of Christmas

Jan201005

Reflection & Contemplation, Twelve Days of Christmas

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Twelve Drummers Drumming

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

So, we’ve reached the last day of Christmas and the last day of this little series. If you haven’t been following so far, we’ve been studying the underlying religious symbolism behind the song, the Twelve Days of Christmas, looking at the Christian/Catholic folklore surrounding the song. Within this tradition the song can be used as a way to teach the Christian faith, with each day representing a different aspect of faith.

Today, the song culminates with the twelve drummers representing the twelve phrases in the Apostles’ Creed.

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Jan201004

Reflection & Contemplation, Twelve Days of Christmas

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Eleven Pipers Piping

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Today is the eleventh day of Christmas, and the penultimate day of our brief series where we’ve been using the popular folksong to explore some of the building blocks – or launching pads – for the  Christian faith. Today, the eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful disciples.

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Jan200903

Reflection & Contemplation, Twelve Days of Christmas

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Ten Lords a-Leaping

On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

We’re now beginning to draw to the end of our brief mini-series on the Twelve Days of Christmas, with each day focusing on an element of Christian represented in the folksong. Today, the ten lords a-leaping represent the Ten Commandments.

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Jan200902

Reflection & Contemplation, Twelve Days of Christmas

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Nine Ladies Dancing

On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Continuing our series on the Twelve Days of Christmas, we’re looking at the different Christian symbols applied to the folksong. The idea behind these meanings is that then the song can be taught as a kind of teaching song to help learn and remember some important “pillars” of faith. Today is the ladies dancing – which symbolise the fruit of the Spirit.

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Jan200901

Reflection & Contemplation, Twelve Days of Christmas

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Eight Maids a-Milking

On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree

We’re now well into our quick and easy two week series on the Twelve Days of Christmas, following the religious symbolism (according to a piece of Catholic folklore) behind the song. Today, the eight maids a-milking symbolise the eight beatitudes in Matthew’s gospel.

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Dec200931

Reflection & Contemplation, Twelve Days of Christmas

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Seven Swans a-Swimming

On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Continuing our series of reflections on the Twelve Days of Christmas, as the days increase so the subjects of each day become deeper and more elaborate. Today, seven swans a-swimming represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

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Dec200930

Reflection & Contemplation, Twelve Days of Christmas

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Six Geese a-Laying

On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

So – the sixth day of Christmas and we’re halfway through the song. In the Christian folk tradition that we’re following the six geese a-laying stand for the Six Days of Creation.

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Dec200929

Reflection & Contemplation, Twelve Days of Christmas

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Five Gold Rings

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Continuing our series on the Twelve Days of Christmas, we’re looking at the different Christian symbols applied to the folksong. The idea behind these meanings is that then the song can be taught as a kind of teaching song to help learn and remember some important “pillars” of faith. Today is the five gold rings – which symbolise the first five books of the Bible, also called the Books of Moses, the Pentateuch or the Torah (Jewish scriptures).

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Dec200928

Reflection & Contemplation, Twelve Days of Christmas

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Four Calling Birds


On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

There is a general consensus (at least on Wikipedia) that the Calling Birds aren’t actually “birds that call”, but that this line is actually a corruption of “Four Colly Birds”. A colly bird is, apparently, olde English for a Blackbird.

The four birds respresent the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

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Dec200927

Reflection & Contemplation, Twelve Days of Christmas

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Three French Hens

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Continuing my reflections on the Twelve Days of Christmas, the third day of Christmas is for French Hens. Within Christian folklore, the French Hens are for the three virtues faith, hope and love.

Update: For some reason yesterday the rest of this post after the jump got lost when the post was published. It’s now restored – please read on.

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