The 12 days of Christmas : Hidden Meanings

People often think of the " The Twelve Days of Christmas" as the days preceeding the festival.
Actually, Christmas is the season of the Christian's year that lasts for days beginning on 25th Dec and ending on Jan 6th - the Day of Epiphany when the church celebrates the revelation of Christ as the light of the world and recalls the journey of the Magi.
Form 1558 until 1829 people in England were not allowed to practise their faith openly. During this era someone wrote "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as a kind of secret catechism that could be sung in public without the risk of persecution.
The song has two levels of interpretation: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the church
Each element in the carol is a code word for a religious reality.

1. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ

2. The two turtledoves are the old and new testaments

3. Three french hens stand for faith, hope and love

4. The four calling birds are the four gospels

5. The five gold rings recall the torah(Law) - the 1st five books of the old testament

6. The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation

7. Seven swans a-swimming represent the sevenfold gifts of the spirit

8. The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes

9. Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the spirit(Galatians 5)

10. Then ten lords a-leaping are the ten commandments

11. Eleven pipers piping stand for the 11 faithful disciples

12. Twleve drummers drumming symbolise the 12 points of belief in the Apostles's Creed

There you have it, the hidden meanings of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and the secret behind the song.

Read this and it gives new meaning to the song we sing at this time of the year