Interesting

Borrowed from Stories Behind The Great Traditions of Christmas:

Most scholars of the Catholic church deem the song The Twelve Days of Christmas a very important surviving example of a time when that denomination used codes to disguise their teachings. Teaching the Catholic faith in the sixteenth century was outlawed. To hide the illegal and important elements of their teachings, clerics composed poems that seemed silly to most people. These verses, however, were veiled works that taught the church's most important tenets.

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There's much more to this story, but I don't want to bore you, but thought you might find this of interest.

(The true love mentioned in the song is not a sweetheart, but the Catholic church's code for God. The person who receives the gift represents anyone who accepts Christ as the Son of God and as Savior.)

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On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me....a partridge in a pear tree. The partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on the first day of Christmas. Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge, the only bird that will die to protect its young.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me....two turtledoves. These twin birds represent the Old and New Testaments.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me....three French hens. These birds represent faith, hope and love.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....four calling birds. 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 Pentateuch.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....six geese a-laying. These lyrics can be traced back to the first story found in the Bible. Each egg is a day in creation, a time when the world was 'hatched' or formed by God.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me....seven swans a-swimming. It would take someone quite familiar with the Bible to identify this gift. Hidden in the code are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading and compassion. As swans are one of the most beautiful and graceful creatures on earth, they would seem to be a perfect symbol for the spiritual gifts.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....eight maids a-milking. As Christ came to save even the lowest of the low, this gift represents the ones who would receive his word and accept his grace. Being a milkmaid was about the worst job one could have in England during this period; this code conveyed that Jesus cared as much about servants as he did those of royal blood. The eight who were blessed included the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....nine ladies dancing. These nine dancers were really the gifts known as the fruit of the Spirit. The fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....ten lords a-leaping. This is probably the easiest gift to understand. As lords were judges and in charge of the law, this code for the Ten Commandments was fairly straightforward to Catholics.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me....eleven pipers piping. This is almost a trick question, as most think of the disciples in terms of a dozen. But when Judas betrayed Jesus and committed suicide, there were only eleven men who carried out the gospel message.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....twelve drummers drumming. The final gift is tied directly to the Catholic Church. The drummers are the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles' Creed.

(I wonder if they had anything to do with Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer?!?!?!? )