Where did the 12 days of Christmas originate from?
In an interesting twist, some Catholic scholars believe that the “12 Days of Christmas” carol, which first appeared in a children’s book in England in 1780, may have served as a teaching tool for persecuted Catholics in England during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
What is the Catholic meaning of the 12 Days of Christmas?
The true 12 days of Christmas varies across some 50 religious denominations, but the Catholic version has the Christmas season starting on December 25 and concluding with the Epiphany. Each day represents the celebration of a martyr, saint or a feast connected with Jesus’ birth.
What year was the song 12 Days of Christmas released?
1979
Twelve Days of Christmas/Released
What are four Colly birds?
The 1780 version has “four colly birds”—colly being a regional English expression for “coal-black” (the name of the collie dog breed may come from this word). This wording must have been opaque to many even in the 19th century: “canary birds”, “colour’d birds”, “curley birds”, and “corley birds” are found in its place.
Who is the composer of the twelve days of Christmas?
Composer(s) Traditional with additions by Frederic Austin. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol that enumerates in the manner of a cumulative song a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas (the twelve days that make up the Christmas season, starting with Christmas Day).
When did the 12 days of Christmas come out?
About “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol that enumerates each day by the gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas. Frederic Austin was known to popularize the arrangement of the song we know today in 1909.
What are the first three verses of the twelve days of Christmas?
The first three verses run, in full, as follows: A partridge in a pear tree. And a partridge in a pear tree. And a partridge in a pear tree. Subsequent verses follow the same pattern, each adding one new gift and repeating all the earlier gifts so that each verse is one line longer than its predecessor: Mirth without Mischief (1780).
Who are the four Gospels in 12 days of Christmas?
One of the easiest facets of the song’s code to figure out, these fowl are the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . five gold rings. The gift of the rings represents the first five books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch.