The real meaning of Christmas songs

[WhistlingBadger]

I've never quite believed the story that the Twelve Days of Christmas is some sort of veiled reference to Catholic beliefs; I just can't see how a grouse in a fruit tree has anything to do with Jesus, let alone any of the others. But it's possible. People are weird.

Coded messages are interesting and give a good insight into the times. It seems fairly well established that a lot of the bizarre imagery in the Biblical book of Revelation were references to the Roman Empire and other current events of the day, which would have been obvious to people at the time, and just obscure enough to keep the writer and readers from getting thrown to the lions in the arena.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

LOL! Since it was revived....

The 12 Days Of Christmas is actually an interesting song with an interesting beginning... Hope that this is not too religious for these forums...



The song 12 Days of Christmas was actually a code to teach what was considered important. The present for each day had significance.

1. Partridge in a Pear Tree = Jesus Christ
2. 2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
3. 3 French Hens = Faith, Hope, and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4. 4 Calling Birds = The Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5. 5 Golden Rings = The Pentateuch, the first Five Books of the Old Testament
6. 6 Geese A-laying = The six days of creation
7. 7 Swans A-swimming = The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
8. 8 Maids A-milking = The eight beatitudes
9. 9 Ladies Dancing = The nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10. 10 Lords A-leaping = The ten commandments
11. 11 Pipers Piping = The eleven faithful apostles
12. 12 Drummers Drumming = The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed

The Catholic Meaning of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas': The Secret Code Explained – EWTN Great Britain

ewtn.co.uk

Thinking about this further (probably further than it completely deserves ). The other reason I consider this meaning of the song highly unlikely is that all of these beliefs were and are held in common by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. I can't see any reason to speak of them in code when speaking of them openly would not only be acceptable to the other side, but might even raise their estimation of you. If it were references to the pope, or the Vatican, or the veneration of Mary? Then yes, speaking in code would make sense.

But this would be like a Raiders fan moving to Denver, and using code to say "It's good to get first downs and score points" or "John Elway sure did rack up some impressive stats." If it's things we agree on, why bother being mysterious?

 

[jaylach]

Thinking about this further (probably further than it completely deserves ). The other reason I consider this meaning of the song highly unlikely is that all of these beliefs were and are held in common by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. I can't see any reason to speak of them in code when speaking of them openly would not only be acceptable to the other side, but might even raise their estimation of you. If it were references to the pope, or the Vatican, or the veneration of Mary? Then yes, speaking in code would make sense.

But this would be like a Raiders fan moving to Denver, and using code to say "It's good to get first downs and score points" or "John Elway sure did rack up some impressive stats." If it's things we agree on, why bother being mysterious?

Of course I have no idea as to the validity of the 12 Days story as I wasn't born until a few years later. Still, whether true or not, it makes a good story. Good chance it is just folk lore but a lot of folk lore has an origin in truth. That does not mean that folk lore is always fact. In fact the reality that caused most folk lore has no real bearing on what actually got passed down. Also, in the 16th century, it was a low percentage of the population that could read/write. For the general population passing on history was word of mouth which would, of course, lead to many versions of the same historical factual start. Would any of the versions actually be factual? Not very likely but many, if not most, often stemmed from something that actually happened but, through the word of mouth aspect, the original fact would tend to be greatly distorted.

Another thing that must be remembered is that in the 16th century there was a totally different type of society. If you were a serf, and your lord told you something, you didn't have much choice but to accept it as fact.

Also it was an era of superstition. If something happened that could not be explained it was often considered witchcraft or demonic.

I'm going withe the 16th century just due to the 12 Days' origin.

Different eras have the same phrase mean something totally different. Just for fun let's take the following sentence; "Hey Bro, this is my old lady.". A LOT of women would feel insulted but, if you go back to the supposed origin, it is actually a compliment. Supposed the phrase started in old England as "Ole Lady". Ole could relate to age but just as often referred to longevity regardless of age and often related to an ongoing relationship. So, if this history is true, ole became old and, basically, breaks down to 'my only lady'. Is this actually true? I have no idea but I like it.