“The Twelve Days of Christmas”

“The Twelve Days of Christmas” is one of the most famous English Christmas carols of all time. The lyrics of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” basically see the narrator talking about the special gifts their true love gifted them on every single day of the Twelvetide (also known as the Twelve Days of Christmas). The Twelvetide is widely considered to officially begin on Christmas Day (December 25th) and end on January 5th.

So in this song, on each day of these twelve days that come together to form the season of Christmas, the narrator received a special gift from someone truly special to them. So in all, the narrator ended up receiving a total of 12 set of different gifts during the Twelvetide. And each of these gifts grew grander with each new day of the Twelvetide.

What are these gifts?

Below are all the twelve gifts the narrator receives from their true love:

1. “Partridge in a pear tree”
2. “Two turtle doves”
3. “Three French hens”
4. “Four calling birds”
5. “Five golden rings”
6. “Six geese”
7. “Seven swans”
8. “Eight maids”
9. “Nine ladies dancing”
10. “Ten lords”
11. “Eleven pipers”
12. “Twelve drummers”

Believed hidden meanings of the Twelve Gifts

For several centuries, many have grappled with exactly what these gifts mean. Many a historian believes each of the gifts mentioned in the song is a metaphor used to represent something or someone from the Holy Bible.

Over the years, there have been a number of interpretations of the actual meanings of the “gift” in the song. That said, here are the most common alleged hidden meanings of each of the gifts:

1. The gift of “partridge in a pear tree” represents Jesus Christ.
2. One of the “two turtle doves” represents the Old Testament whereas the other represents the New Testament.
3. Each of the “three French hens” represents one of the three virtues: love, faith and hope.
4. The four Gospels (John, Mark, Luke and Matthew)are represented in the form of the “four calling birds).
5. The “five golden rings’” are believed to be making reference to the Pentateuch.The Pentateuch is simply the first five books of the Holy Bible. They are as follows: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
6. The six days it took God to create the world are represented by the sixth gift – “six geese a-laying”.
7. “Seven swans” represent the seven Catholic Sacraments. These sacraments are: baptism, eucharist, confirmation, reconciliation, anointing of the sick, marriage and Holy orders.
8. The gift of “eight maids” allegedly refers to the eight Beatitudes. These are the eight blessings Jesus mentioned in His Sermon on the Mount.
9. “Nine ladies dancing” are believed to be representing the 9 fruits of the Spirit. These nine fruits are: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control.”
10. The gift of the “Ten Lords” represent the iconic Ten Commandments of God given to Moses.
11. The “eleven pipers” reference the eleven Faithful Apostles. These apostles are: Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James bar Alphaeus, Simon theZealot and Judas bar James.
12. The “twelve drummers drumming” are said to represent the twelve Articles of Catholic Faith.

Facts about “The Twelve Days of Christmas”

• The exact date “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was released is unknown. However, according to historians, the song existed as far back as the 16th century.
• The original writer of the lyrics of this song isn’t known. However, the standard melody and arrangement of the song was created by English singer and composer Frederic Austin. It was published in 1909.
• “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is one of the most performed Christmas carols of all time.
• In 2006, a cover version of this Christmas song by the an a cappella group from America called Straight No Chaser took the world by storm after being uploaded on YouTube. Having garnered over 9 million view on YouTube in 2006 (which was an abnormally high number during that time), the group was instantly signed by Atlantic Records. Straight No Chaser later released their cover version of the song as a single.

Cover Versions of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”

Being one of the most performed Christmas songs, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” has been covered by many, many artists. Here are some of the most notable cover versions of this song:

• Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters in 1949
• Perry Como in 1953 Alvin and the Chipmunks in 1963
• Frank Sinatra in 1968
• The Muppets and John Denver in 1979