12 Days of Christmas Lyrics and Song

Though we sing the song casually and carelessly – the 12 Days of Christmas Lyrics hold special meaning that has not been realized by many for ages.

For millions, “The Twelve Days of Christmas Lyrics” is nothing more than a novelty song. Most link this old Christmas carol with other nonsensical numbers such as “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” or “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”. Yet even though this song seems to make little sense now, there was a time in England when “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was once one of the most important teaching tools of the Catholic church.

12 Days of Christmas Lyrics (Medieval Hidden Meanings)

Beginning in the sixteenth century, British Catholics were forbidden by law to practice their faith. The only legal Christian denomination in the British Empire was the Church of England. Those Catholics who spoke or wrote of their faith were arrested and tried under the laws of the time. If their violation was considered sever enough, they were either hung or drawn and quartered. Children as well as adults were subject to the same laws, and age did not pervert the state from dealing harshly with even a young practitioner of the faith.

In the face of persecution and death, millions refused to abandon the religion of their ancestors. So much like the early Christians in Rome. Catholics in England went underground. They held secret masses, studied their doctrine behind closed doors, and hid all signs of their faith at home. They were an almost secret society.

One of the most severe problems the Catholic underground faced was in teaching their children the doctrine of the church. Since writing down anything dealing with the Catholic faith could cost both writer and reader their lives, the messages of doctrine and faith had to be reproduced in secret code.

One of the most successful codes ever invented by the Catholic underground during the period was a Christmas carol that on the surface appeared to make no sense at all. Ironically, this rather strange ode became so popular that it found its way into pubs, concert halls, and even the royal palace. Few, certainly not the king or the head of the Anglican church, suspected that the meaning behind the song’s lyrics included some of the most important elements of doctrine of the outlawed Catholic church.

When it first became popular, many in England tried to explain that the meaning of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” could not be found not in the presents, but in the days. There were several theories based on this explanation, ranging from the theory that the verses represented the days leading up to December twenty-fifth to the explanation that the words embraced a gift-giving celebration lasting a dozen days after Christmas Day.

During discussions in regard to which days the song referred, the meaning of the unusual gifts were most often passed off as the fancies of a young man sick with love- the argument being that the gifts made no real sense because men in love rarely thought or acted logically. Yet nothing could have been farther from the truth; the gifts were the clue to unlocking the code.

The days were a simple mark on the time between Christ’s birth and the Epiphany, the time when the wise men came to honor the newly born king. They were nothing more. The secret meaning for Catholic boys and girls was found not in the dozen days, but in the very special gifts. As the children sang, they weren’t to think of the actual gifts, but of something much different.

Every Catholic child was taught that only pure and true love came from God. So from the beginning of “The 12 Days of Christmas Lyrics,” each singer understood that this song was about a heavenly love, not about a boy’s crush on a girl.

12 Days of Christmas Lyrics – the Special Meaning of the Gifts

The importance of Christ’s death and resurrection was the anchor to the faith-and to the song-and was therefore repeated with each new verse. The single partridge in a pear tree represented courage and devotion above what man ever showed on earth. A mother partridge lures enemies away from her defenseless chicks in order to protect them. Jus as she sacrifices her own life for her children, so did Christ for us. Add to that image a pear tree that symbolized the cross and, together, this first gift represented the ultimate gift given by the babe born on Christmas Day.

The second gift, two turtle doves, stood for both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Doves were also symbols of truth and peace, once again reinforcing the tie to Christ and Christmas.

Today three French hens mean nothing, but in the sixteenth century they were very expensive food items reserved for only the richest homes. If a banquet served French hens, then it was truly a meal fit for a king. In the song, the hens symbolized the expensive gifts brought by the wise men. When Catholic children sang the third verse of the song, they pictured not chickens, but gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The four calling birds stood for the authors of the Gospels that trumpeted the story of Jesus and told about his life and ministry from birth to death. In a very real sense, the birds names were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

In keeping with the biblical theme. the five rings stood for the five Old Testament books that Christians knew as the “law of Moses” and Jews refer to as the “Torah.” These gifts were to remind the singer of not only man’s fall from grace due to sin, but the fact that a Savior would come to offer salvation and a path back to God.

“Six geese a- laying” might have seemed comical to those who sang the song without knowledge of the phrase’s true meaning, but to underground Catholics this symbolic code was easily understood and incredibly logical The Lord made the world in six days. Just as eggs are the symbol for new life and creation, so the geese laying eggs presented the whole story of God moving his hand over the void to create life.

“Seven swans a-swimming” would have been a huge mystery to the uninformed as well. Paul’s writing in Romans 12:6-8 speaks of the “gifts of the Holy Spirit.” These gifts- prophesy, service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, and mercy- were linked to the lyrics’ symbol of the swans, birds considered by many to be the most graceful and beautiful fowl in England. Catholic children were thus taught that when you walked with God, the gifts of the Spirit moved in your life as easily as a swan on water.

“Eight maids a-milking” represented the common man whom Christ had come to serve and save. At the time the song was written, no job in England was lower then working with cattle or in a barn. For a female servant to be used in this way indicated that she was little worth to her master. Yet Christ, the King of Man, served people without regard to status, race, sex, or creed. The number eight in this verse also represented the beatitudes listed in Matthew 5:3-10: blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemaker, and the righteous.

In the verse that followed, the fruits of the spirit-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control-were hidden by the image of nine ladies dancing In truth, this dance taught the real joy and rewards of serving Christ.

“Ten lords a-leaping” represented the Ten Commandments. Since a lord was supposed to be a just and honorable man and the final voice of law in his domain, it was understandable why ten lords would represent the ten laws God gave his people through Moses.

There were twelve disciples, but in the end one of them did not embrace Christ or his message of salvation. The eleven pipers piping thus served as the image of the eleven apostles who took the message of Christ’s life and resurrection to the world.

The final gifts, twelve drummers drumming, represented a very important confessional taught to all Catholics. Called the “The Apostles’ Cree,” the confession contained a dozen different elements. The drum was probably used as a symbol of the pace or rhythm that this creed gave each believer’s daily walk with the Lord. The Apostles Cree, familiar to even many non-Catholics, reads:

I believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth, in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried, descended into hell; the third day he rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. He shall return to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

It is doubtful that the English Catholics who composed and taught this song to their children would have wanted the true meaning of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” to be hidden forever. When the practice of Catholicism was no longer a crime in England, those who had created the song probably wished that its mysteries be revealed. Yet by the time Britain freed the Catholic faith, the words had taken on a life of their own and no one seemed ready to link the seemingly shallow song with other carols that spoke directly of the birth of the Savior.

Even today, four hundred years later, though “The Twelve Days of Christmas” has been recorded hundreds of times and performed hundreds of thousands of times, few can sing the song without laughing at its unusual message and the air capacity it takes to get through it. Perhaps the fun that masked its original intent is why “The 12 Days of Christmas Lyrics” has survived for so long, as well as why the Catholic church survived oppression in merry old England.

To learn the 12 Days of Christmas Lyrics, Check out this Link…

12 Days of Christmas with Lyrics | The Learning Station (learningstationmusic.com)

Return to the Main Page, to Learn all About the Christmas Holiday…

The Christmas Site – Everything About the Christmas Holiday (celebratechristmas.co)