Twelve Days of Christmas

The Twelve Days of Christmas are (depending on differing authorities and sources) either the days from December 26 to January 6, (January 6 being the Epiphany), or the days from Christmas through the eve January 5 of Epiphany. Arguing in favor of the latter is that it coincides more closely with the liturgical Christmas season. However, no less an authority than the 19th century folklorist Sir James George Frazer, favors the December 26 - January 6 interpretation: The last of the mystic twelve days is Epiphany or Twelfth Night ... (The Golden Bough, 1922)

Symbolic interpretation

Some Christians assign symbolism to the gifts in the song. One version of these assigned meanings is:

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• The 'partridge in a pear tree' is Jesus
• The 'two turtle doves' are the Old and New Testaments
• The 'three French hens' are the three virtues, faith, hope, and love
• The 'four calling birds' are the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
• 'Five golden rings' are the first five books of the Bible, or the Pentateuch
• 'Six geese a-laying' refer to the six days of the Creation
• 'Seven swans a-swimming' are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
• 'Eight maids a-milking' are the eight Beatitudes
• 'Nine ladies dancing' are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
• 'Ten lords a-leaping' are the Ten Commandments
• 'Eleven pipers piping' are the eleven faithful Apostles
• 'Twelve drummers drumming' are the twelve doctrines in the Apostles Creed

This interpretation is usually taught with a story (widely considered to be apocryphal, as it is unsupported by any historical evidence) that English Catholics, suffering persecution in the 16th century, wrote the song with these hidden meanings.

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