(For those of you who haven't followed this series on Facebook, I'll probably post # 1-7 here in a day or so. I know you'll wait with baited breath.)
A significant number of the readers of this “12 Days” series
(Surely, you wouldn’t say that the one person who commented is insignificant.)
expressed interest in the idea that there is an unseen meaning behind the song,
“The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and the gifts in the song.
Warning: It seems to me that the
history of this song is wrapped in uncertainty. Of course, it is Christmasy
uncertainty, probably with red ribbon.
I commented in a previous post about the song’s connection
to Christmastide—the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany, the evening of
December 24 – January 5. That seems pretty obvious. Beyond that, one can find a
lot of disagreement, uncertainty, and ambivalence (I don’t care, and I don’t
know, but we can argue about it if you want.) when one tries to answer, “What
does it all really mean?”
I posted this video
in a previous post. Ramirez, the commentator in the post, leans toward the
conclusion that it's all in fun, a parlor game of a bygone era.
Here’s
a video posted by a Roman Catholic group that appears to be doing a lot of
good work, that points to the, “Yes, this song is really about some
serious-stuff” view. It includes a outline of what the various gifts represent.
That well-respected journal for settling all religious
disputes, “Good Housekeeping,” (for my friends who lack a sense of humor, THAT
WAS A JOKE) weighs in on the subject: (The link is in the GH article.)
There's a theory floating around claiming that
during a time when Christians were punished for worshiping openly, "The
Twelve Days of Christmas" song was used to secretly pass on the ideology
of Christianity. Per this theory, each gift on the list symbolizes a different aspect
of the Christian faith:
The GH article goes on with essentially the same line up as
the previous article.
However, the GH article goes on to refer to what Snopes
says. Snopes can always be counted to ruin a good theory/conspiracy. Before we
get to the Snopes article, though. You need to know another part of the story.
Snopes mentions this, but I figured I should snope Snopes.
The religious wars in sixteenth century England made it
dangerous to be a Catholic. Many people practiced their faith in secret. As the
legend goes, Catholic families courageously developed unique ways to secretly
pass the faith onto their children, like “The 12 Days of Christmas.” The
well-known song was used to teach children about the Catholic Church. Although
the lyrics may sound like nonsense, the song actually contains hidden
references. (Quoted
from this site)
Back to what Snopes
says:
(I’ll warn you, the article contains a ghastly description of
the execution those persecuted for being Catholic.)
In short, here is the
conclusion the Snopes folks:
Two very large red flags indicate that the claim about the
"secret" origins of the song "The Twelve Days of
Christmas" is nothing more than a fanciful tale, similar to the many
apocryphal "hidden meanings" of various nursery rhymes:
·
There is
absolutely no documentation or supporting evidence for this claim whatsoever,
other than mere repetition of the claim itself.
·
The claim
appears to date only to the 1990s, marking it as likely an invention of modern
day speculation rather than historical fact.
This conclusion is kinda, sorta admitted to by another Roman
Catholic website, The National Catholic Register:
Was this song created to have a symbol reference point
teaching on God’s interactions with man? Sadly, for now, there’s no evidence to
support the claim. Pick a number and an object, and there’s probably some way
to relate it to the Bible. In fact, early versions of the song contain
completely different gifts in number: boats, bears, and others. (See
here)
So, after all that, in my humble opinion, we land back where we started. “I don’t know.”
In the final analysis, I almost agree with Shaun McAfee’s, the author of the last article, conclusion,
“If the Twelve Days of Christmas helps you and your children learn about Jesus and the Bible, then the merrier you will be if you judiciously use these “hidden meanings.” I say, “almost,” because I think it best to not perpetuate a possibly false history of the song. There is nothing wrong, and possibly a great deal right, however with taking something that’s fun and saying, “Let’s use this, to learn something good.”
In case you aren’t tired of clicking on links, here’s version of the Twelve Days of Christmas, that’ll wake you up.
I had a bit of trouble getting the lyrics, so here is a summary:
Alright everybody, come on, let's celebrate Jesus!
On the first day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me
He gave me the victory
On the second day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me
Two shoutin' shoes . . .
On the third day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me
Three prayin' preachers . . .
On the fourth day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me
Four mighty missionaries . . .
On the fifth day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me
Five songs to sing . . .
On the sixth day of Christmas,
Jesus gave to me
Six musicians playing . . .
On the seventh day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me
Seven days of praying . . .
On the eighth day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me
Eight angels watching . . .
On the ninth day of Christmas,
Jesus gave to me
Nine wise deacons . . .
On the tenth day of Christmas,
Jesus gave to me
Ten voices harmonizing . . .
On the eleventh day of Christmas,
Jesus gave to me
Eleven willing workers . . .
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
Jesus gave to me
Twelve months to lift Him, Eleven willing workers,Ten voices harmonizing, Nine
wise deacons, Eight angels watching, Seven days of praying, Six musicians
playing, Five songs to sing,
Four mighty missionaries, Three prayin' preachers, Two shoutin' shoes,
And He gave me the victory
