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The Twelve Days of Christmas are (depending on differing authorities and sources) either the days from December 14 to December 25, (December 25 being the Epiphany), or the days from Christmas through the eve December 24 of Epiphany. Arguing in favor of the latter is that it coincides more closely with the liturgical Christmas season. However, the 19th century folklorist Sir James George Frazer, favors the December 14 - December 25 interpretation: The last of the mystic twelve days is Epiphany or Twelfth Night ... (The Golden Bough, 1922)

History

These are the twelve days beginning on night of Christmas (December 25) and ending on 5th January as Epiphany begins on (January 6). In the Middle Ages this period was one of continuous feasting and merrymaking, which climaxed on Twelfth Night, the traditional end of the Christmas season.

During the twelve days of Christmas, traditional roles were often relaxed, masters waited on their servants, men were allowed to dress as women, and women as men. Often a Lord of Misrule was chosen to lead the Christmas revels. Some of these traditions were adapted from older, pagan customs, including the Roman Saturnalia. Some also have an echo in modern day pantomime where traditionally authority is mocked and the principal male lead is played by a woman, while the leading older female character, or 'Dame' is played by a man.

This period is referred to in the song Twelve Days of Christmas.

it takes its name from the season (which is also known as Twelvetide), "Twelve Days of Christmas" is a traditional English-language Christmas song, or Christmas carol.

The date of the song's first performance is not known, though it was used in European and Scandinavian traditions as early as the 16th century. An interesting fact about this song is that the total number of presents given (counting 12 partridges, 22 turtle doves...) is 364, one fewer than the number of days in a year.

Structure

Of the 364 total items, 184 of them are birds.

"Twelve Days of Christmas" is a cumulative song, meaning that each verse is built on top of all the previous verses. There are twelve verses, each describing a gift given by "my true love" on one of the twelve days of Christmas.

The first verse runs:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

A partridge in a pear tree.

The second verse:

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Two turtle doves

and a partridge in a pear tree.

and so on. The last verse is:

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Twelve drummers drumming,

eleven pipers piping,

ten lords a-leaping,

nine ladies dancing,

eight maids a-milking,

seven swans a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings;

four calling birds,

three French hens,

two turtle doves

and a partridge in a pear tree.

There are many variations of this song in which the objects are arranged in a different order (for example - twelve lords a-leaping, eleven ladies dancing, ten pipers piping, nine drummers drumming).

Symbolic interpretation

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

• 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. However, their persecutors were Christian, meaning that most or all of the symbolism would also apply.

Snopes.com argues that "here is no substantive evidence to demonstrate that the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was created or used as a secret means of preserving tenets of the Catholic faith, or that this claim is anything but a fanciful modern day speculation..."

Standard variations

Sometimes "gave to me" is used instead of "sent to me"; also "five golden rings" is sometimes "five gold rings". Some argue that "gold" is correct and that "golden" is not. But because "gold" requires stretching into two syllables, the word "golden" seems to fit better. Additionally, some interpreters of the song argue that the five rings refer to coloring around the neck of birds such as pheasants, not jewelry.

The line four calling birds is an Americanization of the traditional English wording four colly birds, and in some places, such as Australia, the variation calling is supplanting the original. Colly is a dialect word meaning black and refers to the European blackbird Turdus merula.

The line four calling birds in some versions is four coiled birds.

The line nine ladies dancing in some versions is nine ladies waiting.

As well, the last four verses are sometimes interchanged, so that one version of the song may have nine pipers, ten drummers, eleven ladies, twelve lords, or any other combination.

Straight versions of The Twelve Days of Christmas has been covered by many popular modern artists and groups.

The version by The Muppets with John Denver is done with the traditional words, but with embellishments, notably by Miss Piggy, breaking up the "straightness" of the presentation.

Parodies

Many parodies of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" have been written, perhaps more than for any other Christmas song, as its simple list of gifts encourages imaginative substitutes.

The version performed by the Canadian comedy team Bob & Doug McKenzie replaces the first gift with "a beer" then "a beer, in a tree" (awkwardly metered to match the traditional "a partridge in a pear tree"), substituting the other gifts on the list with other stereotypically Canadian items such as 8 comic books, 7 packs of smokes, 6 packs of two-fours, 5 golden toques, 4 pounds of back bacon, 3 french toasts, 2 turtlenecks, and a beer in a tree.

In his 1959 satire of the over-commercialization of Christmas, called "Green Chri$tma$", Stan Freberg invented several short and different variations of the song, including:

• "Five tubeless tires"
• "Four quarts of gin"
• "Three cigars"
• "Two cigarettes"
• "And some hair tonic on a pear tree"

In the 1960's, comedy songwriter Allan Sherman composed and sang (along with a choir) the "12 Gifts of Christmas", and although it may seem strange, on the 12th day of Christmas he decided to exchange the 11 previous gifts:

• "Automatic vegetable slicer that works when you see it on television, but not when you get it home";
• "Chromium combination manicure scissors and cigarette lighter";
• "Pair of teakwood shower clogs";
• "Indoor plastic birdbath";
• "pink satin pillow that says 'San Diego' with fringe all around it";
• "Hammered aluminum nutcracker";
• "Statue of a lady with a clock where her stomach ought to be";
• "Simulated alligator wallet";
• "Calendar book with the name of my insurance man";
• "Green polka dot pajamas";
• and a "Japanese transistor radio", a Nakashuma, the Mark IV model (that's the one that's discontinued), in a leatherette case with holes in it so you can listen right through the case, and a wire with a thing on one end that you can stick in your ear, and a thing on the other end that you can't stick anywhere because it's bent.

Tim Wilson's "Redneck" version has become the most popular parody version heard on American radio as of 2004. The gifts include a 12-pack of Bud, 11 rasslin' tickets, a tin of Copenhagen, 9 years probation, 8 table dancers, 7 packs of Red Man, 6 cans of SPAM, 5 flannel shirts, 4 big mud tires, 3 shotgun shells, 2 hunting dogs, and some parts to a Mustang GT. Unlike most other versions of the song, Wilson's does not feature the characteristic numerical verses.

Scottish Comedian Bill Barclay recorded a version (sometimes titled 'The 12 drinks of Christmas). Each verse contains a stronger drink, with Bill becoming more and more drunk as the song progresses.

A popular parody in the United States, The Twelve Pains of Christmas (performed by Bob Rivers and his comedy troupe), does away with numbering altogether and instead lists some of the activities that drive Americans crazy during the Christmas season from lighting, to gift-giving, to dealing with family members, even singing carols. Finding a christmas tree, bringing up the lights, hangovas, sending christmas cards, five months of bills!, facing my inlaws...etc...

On the Sesame Street Christmas CD, the gang improvises:

Cookie Monster gets well, a cookie, Elmo gats 2 baby frogs, an Anything Girl gets 3 footballs(?), Grover gets 4 wooly bears, Bert gets 5 argyle socks, Ernie gets 6 rubber ducks, Oscar gets 7 trashcans, The Count gets 8 counts, Big Bird gets 9 lbs. of birdseed, Telly demands 10 triangles, Harry Monster wants 11 broken buildings and Snuffy can't remember what he got.

Blizzard Entertainment released a free MP3 for its fans with the voice actors from StarCraft singing about different items in that video game.

Cost

Cost of Christmas according to: "The Christmas Index" (12/2005)

• One Partridge in a Pear Tree $104.99 ($15.00 Partridge,$89.99 Pear Tree)
  
• Two Turtle Doves $40.00 ($20.00 each)
  
• Three French Hens $45.00 ($15.00 each)
  
• Four Calling Birds $399.96 ($99.99 each)
  
• Five Gold Rings $325.00 ($65.00 each)
  
• Six Geese-a-Laying $300.00 ($50.00 each)
  
• Seven Swans-a-Swimming $4,200.00 ($600.00 each)
  
• Eight Maids-a-Milking $41.20 ($5.15 each)
  
• Nine Ladies Dancing $4,576.14 ($508.46 each)
  
• 10 Lords-a-Leaping $4,039.08 ($403.91 each)
  
• 11 Pipers Piping $2,053.20 ($186.66 each)
  
• 12 Drummers Drumming $2,224.30($185.36 each)
  

Total Christmas Price Index $18,348.87
True cost of Christmas in song $72,608.02
"Core" index, excluding swans $14,148.87
Source: PNC Advisors

External links

• An example of the symbolic interpretation and the related story at The Christian Resource Institute
• An examination of the secret meaning story at Snopes.com

Some sophisticated and funny parodies of the "12 days":

• The Twelve Days of Christmas a conductor's nightmare: a choral adventure in processing
• The 12 spams of Christmas - a punk/classical extravaganza

• Christmas-linked holidays
• Christmas carols