True Meaning of 12 Days of Christmas

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IT’S TWELVE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS— THE HIDDEN MEANING OF CHRISTMAS (Submitted by a “Daily Inspiration” subscriber) People often think of The Twelve Days of Christmas as the days preceding the festival. Actually, Christmas is a season of the Christian Year that lasts for days beginning December 25 and lasting until January 6 -the Day of Epiphany - when the church celebrates the revelation of Christ as the light of the world and recalls the journey of the Magi. From 1558 until 1829 people in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. During this era someone wrote ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ as a kind of secret catechism that could be sung in public without risk of persecution. The song has two levels of interpretation: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the church. Each element in the carol is a code word for a religious reality. 1. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ. 2. The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments. 3. Three French hens stand for faith, hope and love. 4. The four calling birds are the four Gospels. 5. The five gold rings recall the torah (Law) the first five books of the Old Testament. 6. The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation. 7. Seven swans a-swimming represent the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit. 8. The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes 9. Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Spirit (Gal.5). 10. The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments. 11. Eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful disciples. 12. Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the 12 points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed There you have it, the HIDDEN meaning of The Twelve Days of Christmas and the secret behind the song..

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A Christian Reading on the Twelve Days of Christmas
#59952 A Christian Reading on the Twelve Days of Christmas Three Leaders are needed. The song may be sung before or after the sketch. Leader 1: No one knows for sure why the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas was written. Legend states, The Twelve Days of Christmas was written to help Christian children learn about the Bible during a time of persecution in 16th century England. Leader 2: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 Leader 3: (Sing or speak) On the 1st day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me. Leader 1: My True Love is the Lord God Himself – the giver of all good gifts. Leader 2: I have loved you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 Leader 3: (Sing or speak) A partridge in a pear tree. Leader 1: The Partridge in a Pear Tree is symbolic of Jesus and the wooden cross on which He died. A partridge will give its life to protect its chicks. Leader 2: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 Leader 3: (Sing or speak) Two Turtledoves Leader 1: The Two Turtledoves can represent the Old and New Testaments, God’s holy and sacred Word.
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