The Other Side (You Decide)

I took the opportunity to email our Pastor about my previous blog entry regarding the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. He was the one who brought to my attention the web site Truthorfiction.com. He did note that this story has been circulating as long as he's been ordained, which would make it seem as though it is true. On the other hand, see what he found about this story on that web site:

TruthOrFiction.com has not found any Catholic or non-Catholic historical or
scholarly reference that supports this allegation. None of the hundreds of
emails or citations of this story on the net that we've seen includes any
credible source. Most have no source at all, but those that do most often
cite an article published on the Catholic Information Network in 1995. It
was authored by Fr. Hal Stockert of Fishnetsite and appears to be the spark
of the eRumor.

On the other hand, there are several sources that list the song as being of
probable French origin. The most notable is the prestigious New Oxford Book
of Carols which not only cites the French roots of the song, but says it is
based on a game that children would play on the Twelfth Night, the eve of
Epiphany. In the game, each child would have to try to remember and recite
the objects that were said by a previous child. If successful, the child
would add another object to the list for the next contestant to recite. If
not, the child dropped out. The game would continue until there was a
winner.

There are also other problems with the catechism theory. The assumption
behind it is that the song allowed Catholics to secretly embrace their
beliefs behind the backs of non-Catholic Christian leaders during a time
when being a practicing Catholic was against the law, for example under
Anglican rule. None of the doctrines said to be represented in the Twelve
Days of Christmas, however, was different from the beliefs of Anglicans or
even Presbyterians. There is also the question that if the song was that
important for teaching or remembering doctrine, why was it associated only
with Christmas? One final note is that the first printed version of the
song is said to be in the children's book "Mirth Without Mischief" published
in 1780 and that describes the song in similar terms as the Oxford Book of
Carols.