Twelve Days' mystery solved
It’s an appealing idea — ascribing hidden religious meaning to the ostensibly secular tune, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” The song marks the 12 days between Christmas and Jan. 6 — the Epiphany, a closer estimate of the date of Christ’s birth and a major feast day since the Middle Ages.
People are naturally attracted to stories of faith’s triumph over barriers. This story claims the symbolic song was created to secretly teach catechism to oppressed, Reformation-era English Catholics under Anglican control. Perhaps you’ve heard the partridge is Jesus Christ, the turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments, the “calling” (actually, colly) birds are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Like other popularly circulated urban legends, it’s false.
The ascribed meanings were common to all Christians of the time, not Catholic-specific, so there would have been no need for the alleged secrecy. Nor are its origins English; similar wording was found in earlier French and Scandinavian music. The descriptions of edible birds, music, and dancing depict common holiday celebrations of the time.
It may have been a mix-up, a case of slow changes in the retelling over the years. Another song called “A New Dial,” a.k.a. “In Those 12 Days,” includes a memory game. No birds, maids, or rings, but by interesting coincidence it lists many of the allegedly secret meanings in the urban legend:
“What are they but one? We have one God alone.
“What are they but two? Two testaments Old and New…
“What are they but six? Six days to labor is not wrong, for God himself did work so long.”
Other persistent misinterpretations of the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ are for the birds. Colly birds are blackbirds, not white “calling” birds. The five golden rings are ring-necked pheasant-like creatures, not jewelry.
With these corrections, the seven-day pattern of edible birds (yes, they ate swans and blackbirds in the Middle Ages) matches the original French version. Follow that with five days to dance off the added pounds, and the song paints a cohesive celebratory picture.
During those 12 days before the old calendrical Christmas, traditional roles were briefly relaxed. Masters waited on servants, men dressed as women, and women as men. Some traditions were adapted from older pagan customs, such as the Roman Saturnalia (December solstice celebration).
Role-playing sounds a bit like Halloween. Maybe it’s simply less confusing to stick with the legend.
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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at [email protected].