THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS:
Are they really ALL ABOUT JESUS?
Well, let’s see.

 

Perhaps you were like me when I was growing up. I usually got annoyed when we had to sing “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” There was just too much repetition and way too many weird gifts to hold my attention for the time it took to work yourself through all twelve verses. However, I do have a vivid memory of one version they always performed on a Birmingham TV Station (Channel 6 back then) when they had a group who had changed the lyrics to poke fun at the commercialization of Christmas, that had lyrics which made me laugh, because I understood and laughed at  “the gifts” they had chosen to sing about. Their “gifts” made sense and said something which reminded me of the true meaning of Christmas.

Well, the original “Twelve Days Of Christmas” featured “gifts” which represented the basic teachings of the Church during dangerous times, when teaching children those truths could bring persecution. So, each gift represented a basic belief. Now, the first version of the song actually taught traditional Catholic beliefs, in particular; but in later times other Christian groups adapted and used the same song with what most of us would say were the true Biblical teachings.

Many Christian traditions still observe some form of the actual twelve days of Christmas between Christmas Day and Epiphany, or January 6. Many have viewed January 6 as the day the Magi or the Wise Men arrived in Bethlehem to worship the Christ. In Europe some Christians hold parades and celebrate each of these days as they only begin their Christmas celebration on Christmas Day and conclude it on January 6. This is how “The Twelve Days Of Christmas” came to be popularized and how it also came to be used to cleverly pass along precious Biblical truths when there arose persecution for teaching them openly.

So, let’s take a look at each gift and what it originally meant, and what it might mean to us as Christians standing on Scripture as we live in faith during these modern days:

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

 

Well, five golden rings? These reminded these believers of God’s gift of the Law, the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible as we know it: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These provide the history and the very foundation for God’s People, based upon Creation, the Fall, the Flood, the Exodus and the Giving of the Law. These provide the Beginning of God’s Story of Redemption through His Son, the Lamb, who would be born from among His Chosen People.

 

 

Now, this one is like a trick question. It’s a number of people in the Bible, with one being left out for obvious reasons—so, that would be the eleven remaining faithful disciples after Judas’ betrayal: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus), Simon the Zealot, and Judas (the son of James). God bless them, everyone! (Oh, that’s a whole ‘ nother story.)

Now, see there? We made it. For those using “The Twelve Days Of Christmas to teach basic Christian beliefs to children and new believers, a basic statement of faith, the Apostles Creed, summed up everything. The twelve drummers drumming were a figure of the teachers trying to drum into the new believers’ memory the basic truths of the Christian faith. Some of us had to learn the multiplication tables or the state capitals or maybe some powerful Bible Verses, by repeating them over and over and over—like drummers repeating their rhythm as the foundation for a song. 

(This information was taken from “The Twelve Days of Christmas Lyrics: Meaning and History; Christianity.com, December 18, 2024.)

Just to sum all up, I would present this more directly, perhaps more openly clear version, without the clever symbolic gifts, explained above: Only repeat the verses at your own discretion. I won’t.

On the first day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
our Lord Jesus the Christ.
On the second day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
two testaments . . .
On the third day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
love, joy and peace . . .
On the fourth day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
four Gospels true . . .
On the fifth day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
five books of the Law . . .
On the sixth day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
His grand Creation . . .
On the seventh day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
seven spiritual gifts . . .
On the eighth day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
eight Beatitudes . . .
On the ninth day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
nine spiritual fruit . . .
On the tenth day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
the Ten Commandments . . .
On the eleventh day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
eleven Disciples faithful . . .
On the twelfth day of Christmas
our Good God gave to us
twelve Bible truths . . .

 

You know, in the original version each verse begins with the phrase, “ . . . my true love gave to me . . .” Now, who is “ . . . my true love . . . ?” Well, in the original it would be a boyfriend, or perhaps a girlfriend. However, remember this song is a symbolic picture of Christian beliefs; so, “. . . my true love . . .” Is the gift-giver, our Lord Jesus. He is the heart of Christmas. He is the heart of God’s eternal plan to offer salvation to all of us in this world. He is the heart of our hope for eternity with Him in Heaven. We celebrate Christmas because Jesus being born in a manger emphasizes how deeply God loves us. We celebrate Christmas because Jesus chose to become a child, a boy and then a man—and our eternal Savior. We celebrate Christmas because Jesus bore our sins on the Cross and rose victorious on the third day to emphatically assure of forgiveness and our eternal Home with Him in Heaven. CHRISTMAS REALLY IS ALL ABOUT JESUS.