Twelve Days of Christmas

By this point in the holiday season, we've all probably heard no less than 10 renditions of the beloved Twelve Days of Christmas song.   But did you know there's a theory claiming this song was used to secretly pass on the ideology of Christianity?  

This whole theory is new to me and I find it so interesting.  In case it's new to you too, here's the list symbolisms ~

• The Partridge in the Pear Tree is Jesus Christ.
• The 2 Turtle Doves are The Old and New Testaments.
• The 3 French hens are Faith, Hope, and Charity, the theological virtues.
• The 4 Calling Birds are the four gospels and/or the four evangelists.
• The 5 Golden Rings are the first five books of the Old Testament.
• The 6 Geese A-laying are the six days of creation.
• The 7 Swans A-swimming are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments.
• The 8 Maids A-milking are the eight beatitudes.
• The 9 Ladies Dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit.
• The 10 Lords A-leaping are the ten commandments.
• The 11 Pipers Piping are the eleven faithful apostles.
• The 12 Drummers Drumming are the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed.

If you add all those items up, the total number of gifts would be 364.  The gifts are cumulative, so you'd be getting a new turtle dove every single day and so on.  PCN Bank tracks the prices of each item and this year the total is $41,205.58.  

Here's something else I hadn't really thought of - the twelve days actually start on Christmas day and go for the 12 days after Christmas, which represents the coming of the Magi.  This puts the last day on January 5, which is also known as the Feast of the Epiphany.

Now that we've talked about the song, I'll be humming it for the rest of the day!  How about you?