***JUST A REMINDER....my airing date for Wheel of Fortune is TOMORROW, Friday, Dec. 19th on your local Wheel of Fortune Television Station!!! I hope you can watch!***
Did you know there is a history and meaning behind the 12 Days of Christmas carol? I found this to be quite interesting from an email I received this week:
What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality, which the children could remember.
The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles' Creed.
Isn't that interesting? Its nice to now what we're actaully singing about when we say these words in the carol.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
20 lovely comments:
Very interesting! I just watched on Top Chef last night where they had to make a dish based on the 12 days of Christmas! I think the contestants could have used this information as they planned their menus. :D Speck so.
It is FREEZING here this a.m. Dad, Kendall and I were up and at 'em at 6:00 a.m. to go to dad's Thursday morning men's bible study group. They served a lovely breakfast at MCL and then a Christmas message followed by a professional singer... it was beautiful...now I'm tired. :D Hope you have a great day! Taking the G's to their Dr.s appointment downtown today. Cannot WAIT until your TV debut!!!! YOU WERE FANTASTIC!!!!
Love you, Love, mom xooxoxoxoxo
I had heard these before, but I always forget. Thanks for the reminder! May we never forget why we are celebrating this season, especially with all the craziness and commercialism in the world around us.
Oh, how interesting! I've never heard that before. Thanks for teaching me something I didn't know!
I can't wait to watch you on tv tomorrow! Its so exciting!
My Mom learned all of this last year and shared it with all of us, since her table theme was "12 Days of Christmas". Thanks for sharing - I had forgotten some of it! :)
I've always really like this story - thanks for putting it out there.
Can't wait to see you on Wheel!
That is so neat. I had no idea. It is such a blessing that we can worship openly. Sometimes, I think we forget.
I had NO idea!! How awesome! Thank you for posting that! Definitely will be watching tomorrow night!!!
I set my DVR! Hope you won lots of money!!!
I will definitely try to remember and watch you on Wheel!
This is awesome...thanks for sharing! My hubby who is catholic had no idea! I love this!
Girl I won't forget; I was counting down the days til your appearance...can't wait to say I know her...well kinda...yeah I know ya!
I am so excited to watch wheel of fortune tomorrow!!! (o:
You are on my DVR! :)
How cool is that?!? Thanks for sharing! And, to answer your question about how I know Ashley and Brian from OBU - Ashley is my sister and Brian is my bro-in-law.
Wow that is SO cool! Thanks for sharing. By the way, I've got a give away going on. So you might want to check it out!
Very interesting post!!!
I learned something important today especially about FAITH...
Swinging by from Rachel's blog - thank you!
That's pretty neat! I can't wait to see you tomorrow on WHEEL!
That is very interesting! I did not know that. My 16 year old loves this song, so I know he will like this info too.
And I am going now to set my DVR!
Merry Christmas!
Amy:)
Wow, that IS very interesting. I never knew that before! Thanks for the lesson! :)
Carrie
That is so interesting! But isnt it funny that most songs we learn as children have some other meaning behind the words!!!
V
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