Mrs B

You all might be interested in the meaning of the words of the song.

The twelve days of Christmas are actually the auspicious twelve days that fall between 25th of December until January 5th. In some families, it is traditional to give Christmas gifts on each of the twelve days. 12 day of Christmas meaning bring out the significance of each gift presented on each day.

It is from a catechism song from where we get the 12-day of Christmas meaning. The song is entitled as The Twelve Days of Christmas. In the twelve days twelve gifts are presented by "my true love". True Love indicates God. 12 day of Christmas meaning is provided below:

1st day- A Partridge in a Pear Tree symbolized Jesus Christ.

2nd day- Two Turtledoves signified Old and New Testaments.

3rd day- Three French hens signified Faith, Hope and Charity.

4th day - Four calling birds represented the four gospels or the four Evangelists.

5th day – Five gold rings referred to the first five books of the Old Testament.

6th day - Six Geese A- lying symbolized six days of creation.

7th day - Seven Swans A- swimming signified seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

8th day - Eight Maids A- milking referred to the eight beatitudes.

9th day - Nine ladies dancing symbolized the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit.

10th day - Ten Lords A – leaping symbolized the Ten Commandments.

11th day - Eleven Pipers piping symbolized the eleven faithful apostles.

12th day - Twelve Drummers Drumming referred to the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed.

Quilting Di

Thanks Mrs B....I knew there was something more symbolic to it ad it just wasn't coming to me.

trueimage

It was taught like this because catholics were killed for their beliefs and traditions. It was code.

trueimage

It is a day of thanksgiving to God for the providence of the pilgrims through their first year here in America. It was celebrated after the harvest.

granny_59

thank you all so much. I am a catholic also but I have never heard of that!?

purplemem

Thanksgiving is celebrated the 3rd Thursday of November. It is usually a family celebration with traditional menu based on the area of the country (or previous country) you are in. For example: I live in the South, we have Turkey and dressing. Dressing is a bread casserole made of cornbread, onions, sage and broth. When I lived in the Midwest a traditional dish was Bread dressing, made of biscuits and white bread. The seasonings were very different, as was the texture. In my house it is all about the food and family. We eat the things my grandmother used to make. My mother brings green beans, turnip greens and pecan pie. My sis in law makes something weird and jalapeno corn and hash brown casserole. She also makes spinach souffle and carrot souffle. I bring homemade yeast rolls and a dessert. Another family brings appetizers and dips. My brother smokes the turkey or deep fries it, depending on the weather. We all laugh and talk. It is a very big deal in our house. We always make an intergenerational picture.

redkimba

pretty good wikipedia article on the 12 days of Christmas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_days_of_christmas

quilter on the eastern edge

And "old Christmas Day" is the day the Christmas tree comes down. Even now, we put the tree up on the 22nd or 23rd of December and take it down on the 6th of January. When I was a kid, we always put up the tree on Christmas Eve and we didn't go back to school from Christmas holidays until Jan. 7th.

The 12 days are December 25th to January 5th.

momymom

Thanks for the history lesson.