The Christian meaning behind “12 Days of Christmas”

Christmas carols are one of my favorite parts of the season. The tradition of listening to Christmas music while hanging keepsake ornaments on the tree is simply beautiful to me. There has always been one song that, to me, never made sense until I converted from Protestantism to Catholicism. The 12 Days of Christmas was always fun to sing (and try to remember what goes with which day) but never seemed to be anything more than something a song writer wrote and just filled in the blanks with things. The truth is there is a deep meaning for each of the days. In fact, there is a Christian meaning behind the “12 Days” that is missed by those who do not follow the liturgical calendar.

Let’s look at each day:

First: Let’s look at the symbolism of the “12 Days”. Protestants will easily miss the purpose of “12 days” because they do not follow the liturgical calendar. In Catholicism, we see the 12 days as representing the 12 days of the Christmas season. Contrary to what society tells us, the Christmas season does not begin on Black Friday and end December 26. It begins on Christmas Day (midnight Mass to be exact) and ends…..you guessed it…..12 days later on the Feast of the Epiphany.

1- “a partridge in a pear tree”= Jesus Christ.  I never knew what a partridge was as a child (as an adult I learned of course). A partridge is a medium-sized bird, typically gray, that is native to Europe, Asia and Africa. Partridges are daring defenders of their young. They have been known to attack weasels and humans to protect their young. The partridge in the “12 Days of Christmas” symbolizes Jesus. We can see how a partridge can easily represent Jesus in the Bible passage of Luke 13:34 where Jesus prays: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!”

2- “Turtle Doves” = The Old and New Testaments. Sacred Scripture is compiled of 73 books, written by various authors and apostles. Those 73 books are divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament. The simplest way to understand the two parts is the Old Testament is before Jesus was born and the New Testament begins with the birth of Christ. Together, these two “testaments” make up the Bible.

3- “French Hens” = The principle theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity (love). “So faith, hope, love (charity) remain, these three but the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13)

4- “Calling Birds” = the Four Gospels. The four Gospels kick off the New Testament with the announcement of the birth of Jesus. The gospels give us a glimpse into the life of Christ as he is born and throughout his baptism, teachings, ministry, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension. The four Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John with Luke being the only author of a Gospel who was not one of the original 12 apostles.

5- “Golden Rings” =  The Pentateuch. The 5 golden rings take us all the way back to the origins of creation and man’s fall from grace. The 5 golden rings symbolize the first 5 books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These are referred to as the “Pentateuch”. They are also called the “Torah” in Judaism and constitute the Jewish scriptures, for which the early Jews (including the Blessed Mother and Jesus) would have been familiar.

6- “Geese A-laying” = the six days of creation. The days of creation are a delightful picture of how much love God has for all of life. The entirety of life was birthed through the outpouring of love and grace of God.  

7- “Swans A-swimming” = The 7 swans have a dual meaning. They represent both the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit as well as the seven sacraments. The 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. These are found in the Bible in the book of Isaiah 11:2-3. The 7 Sacraments of the Church are: baptism, penance (confession), Confirmation, Eucharist (Holy Communion), Holy Orders, anointing of the sick, marriage

8- “Maids A-milking” = The eight beatitudes. The beatitudes are given to us by the Lord Jesus during his first sermon (referred to as the Sermon on the Mount). It was during this very important sermon where Jesus provides us the 8 beatitudes which, if followed, will enable us to live a life pleasing to the Lord and free from the attachment of sin. The beatitudes can be found in Matthew 5:3-10. The 8 are: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land, Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill, Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy, Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God, Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called of children of God, Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

9- “Ladies Dancing” = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul delivers to us the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit in his letter to the Galatians. “The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

10- “Lords A-leaping” = the Ten Commandments. The 10 Commandments are those given to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai and Moses, in turn, wrote them on stones. These were considered to be the Law of God for the chosen people of God.  The commandments can be found in Exodus 20:2-17: You shall not have other gods before the Lord, shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain, keep the Sabbath Day holy, honor your father and mother, do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, you shall not covet your neighbor’s goods. The commandments are also a good examination to use prior to going to the Sacrament of Penance.

11- “Pipers Piping” = The eleven faithful apostles. The 11 faithful apostles that we recognize and honor as saints are: Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Matthew, Thomas, James (the son of Alpheus, Bartholomew, Judas Thaddeus, and Simon Zelotes. We should have a desire to be like the 11 faithful apostles rather than Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

12- “Drummers Drumming” = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed. The Apostle’s Creed provides an outline for the theology of the Church and we proclaim we believe each of the points of doctrine when we recite the creed.

It’s fun to recognize there is truly a marvelous meaning behind the 12 Days of Christmas. Now, as you go about your Christmas preparations, decorations, shopping, wrapping, and music playing then you can remember the sacred truths behind the 12 Days. Additionally, it is a great way to teach your children the truths of Sacred Scripture, Christ, and the Church.