I wonder if these were black or white. I choose white. A black swan feels so, well, dark (I crack myself up). Actually, there's an excellent book titled "The Black Swan" . You should read it. No, it has nothing to do with the movie starring Natalie Portman.
It's also a recipe; a take on the Floating Island meringue dessert. Okay, I think I'm getting off track here.
The nicest interpretation, other than back in the 16th century the only things those ladies wanted was livestock and food for Christmas, is that they could stand for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Well, what more can we say about 5 gold rings? I'd take them wouldn't you?? I might get rid of some of those fowl but the rings are definitely keepers.
A connection to the Olympics? Probably not. They could also refer to the first 5 books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch". Some think 'rings' refer to the ringed pheasant.
What in the world is a calling bird? Through the wonderful world wide web I discovered that the ‘calling birds’ in the song is a variation of the word ‘colly’ or ‘collie bird'. The definition of ‘colly’ is ‘black’ and came from the old word for coal. So simply put, a ‘calling bird’ is a blackbird. Maybe they baked them in a pie? Oh, that's from a nursery rhyme; never mind.
Mine, in the picture above, are prettier in red don't you think?
We also like to think of them as representing the 4 gospels.
Maybe there were one of each; the Crevecoeur, Houdans and the La Fleche. The fact that the lyrics referr to a French variety of chicken might tip the scales toward the possibility of the song originating in France; or the words 'French Hens' may have just sounded good.
Turtle Doves have been associated with love and faithfulness. Mated pairs stay together over many years, and possibly for life. Scripturally they represent a picture of devotion and loving kindness.
I like the story attributed to Turtle Doves depicted in the movie "Home Alone 2". If you recall from that movie, Mr. Duncan (the owner of the toy store) gave Kevin a pair; one to keep and one to give a special person. Mr. Duncan told Kevin "as long as each of you has your Turtle Dove, you'll be friends forever". Kevin gave one of his pair to the “pigeon lady” who came to his rescue in Central Park. It was a symbol of the bond they'd shared that Christmas, and that they would always be friends.
Merry Christmas everyone!!Literally, there’s probably one person reading this.
Many people have the impression that The Christmas season is now over.Au contraire mon ami!Today is actually the First Day of Christmas.Christmas has only just begun!The 12 days of Christmas begins today and runs through January 5th, the eve of Epiphany.In the Episcopal Church I grew up in, Christmas Carols weren’t sung until midnight mass on Christmas Eve.
We all know and love (or hate) the song ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’.I personally love it and the following video is one of my favorite versions by Straight No Chaser.
There are lots of theories out there about what the “gifts” in the song really mean.Many believe it is a catechism song whereby 16th Century Catholics could learn and recite doctrine because they were not allowed to practice their faith publicly.An example would be the 1 partridge stood for the one true God, 2 turtle doves as the old and new testaments, etc.
Although this is a wonderful analogy, there’s really no historical or scholarly reference to back it up.There is however, a reference in the New Oxford Book of Carols which makes reference to the French roots of the song, but says it's 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 is also a song in the west of France known as, "La Foi de la loi,"; the sequence being: a good stuffing without bones, two breasts of veal, three joints of beef, four pigs' trotters, five legs of mutton, six partridges with cabbage, seven spitted rabbits, eight plates of salad, nine dishes for a chapter of canons, ten full casks, eleven beautiful full-breasted maidens, and twelve musketeers with their swords – sounds French doesn’t it?
Whatever the true origins of the song, we are able to enjoy it year after year. And personally, historical reference or no, I enjoy connecting the lyrics of this song with scripture.
And should you choose to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas beginning today, here is a link for a daily devotional that I found on line.
