Many people on hearing or seeing the phrase “On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me a partridge in a pear tree” will immediately recognize it as the opening lines of the popular holiday tune The Twelve Days of Christmas which was first published in 1780 in the book Mirth Without Mischief, but is undoubtedly of much earlier origin.
The song appears to tell a secular story of the gifts received by someone on each of the twelve days between the birth of Jesus (December 25) and the arrival of the Magi (January 6). It does so by being a “cumulative song,” meaning that each verse is built on top of the previous ones. Other examples of cumulative songs include Old McDonald Had a Farm and Alouette.
But to some, both past and present, the song actually contains a secret message of deep religious meaning created during a time of religious intolerance in England.
The Alleged Hidden Meaning of The Twelve Days of Christmas
Catholics in England during the period from 1558 until 1829 were prohibited from any practice of their faith by law. Adhering to that faith was considered a crime and openly practicing it could result in imprisonment or worse. Based on this fact, some have argued that The Twelve Days of Christmas was written as a catechism song to help teach young Catholic children the tenets of their faith.
According to the theory, each gift is a symbol. In order, these are:
- A partridge in a pear tree = Christ
- Two turtle doves = The Old and New Testaments
- Three French hens = Faith, Hope and Charity
- Four calling birds = the four Gospels
- Five golden rings = The first five books of the Old Testament (The Pentateuch)
- Six geese a-laying = the six days of creation
- Seven swans a-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
- Eight maids a-milking = the eight beatitudes
- Nine ladies dancing = the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
- Ten lords a-leaping = the ten commandments
- Eleven pipers piping = the eleven faithful apostles
- Twelve drummers drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed
Is there a hidden message in The Twelve Days of Christmas?
So is the story of English Catholics keeping their faith and traditions alive through a coded piece of verse true? In all likelihood, the answer is “no” for several reasons:
- Articles supporting the theory often contain the caveat that it might not be true, in part or whole.
- The origin of the song is not even English but more likely French or ancient Greek.
- The highly reliable snopes.com gives several arguments against the theory, including the proposition that English Catholics had no need to create a hidden code.
- Snopes also believes that it is quite possible that Twelve Days has been confused with In Those Twelve Days, a song dating back to 1625, which does give symbolic meanings to the twelve days of Christmas. However, even this song was not meant to be a Catholic catechism.
Instead the original purpose of Twelve Days appears to be that of a “memory and forfeit game” in which the leader begins with the first verse and everybody has to repeat it. An extra verse is then added and repeated. Any individual who fails to respond correctly is required to give a “gift" -- perhaps an edible treat or small trinket.
Thus, it appears that the tale of a hidden message being part of Twelve Days is like the da Vinci Code. It’s an interesting story, but in all probability it’s just that -- an interesting story.
Related articles: The Possible Origin of Humpty Dumpty, Possible Origins of Jack and Jill
John K. Davis - John is a retired teacher/librarian and has also been doing freelance writing since the late 1970s. Over this period of time, he has had ...
