One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

Romans 14:5

If there is anything that people both in and out of the Church know about the season of Christmas, it is that somehow twelve days have to do with it! This is in large part to the Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. On TV, movies, and even on the radio it is often seen as a countdown to Christmas. However, that is actually the number of days that the season of Christmas lasts. That is, from December 25 to January 6, which is Epiphany! Advent is both a time of hopeful waiting for the coming of Christ and a penitential season, similar to Lent. And just like Easter after Lent, Christmas is not juts one day, but full season of joy.

The song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, was first published around 1780, however, we do not know who exactly wrote it. Some, such as Hugh D. McKellar have suggested that these gifts in the song could be decoded to make a Roman Catholic catechism in order to teach the faith at a time when it was illegal in England. However, there is no evidence for the claim, and all the suggested meanings that were given are not anything which divided Roman Catholics and Anglicans! Quite strange to code hidden meanings from those who would agree with you on those things!

With that being said, there is no reason we can’t look at these things and use them in ways that are beneficial to our faith and build us up as we celebrate the season of Christmas! With that said, let us look at each gift, what we can connect it to, and how we might use them in our celebration of Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, a partridge in a pear tree!

In this song, we look at the gifts of God to us, His Church. In the Old Testament, God Himself is seen as Israel’s husband. In the New Testament, Christ is called the bridegroom and the Church, His bride. And so, all the gifts we see can be seen as gifts from God to us.

The first gift, a partridge in a pear tree, reminds us of the reason that we celebrate Christmas: the Incarnation. In the incarnation God gives us Himself in His Son taking on flesh in order to die for us on the tree of the cross. This is always a good thing for us to remember and give thanks to God for!

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, two turtledoves.

The second gift, the two turtle doves, is usually said to represent the two testaments of the Scriptures, and thus, the whole of the Bible. This is a good thing for us to thank our Lord for! That He has given to us the revelation of Himself and His work to save us!

It also reminds us of the purification of Mary the presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, as in their poverty the sacrifice which they brought to the Temple to fulfill the Law was that of two turtledoves. “22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons”” (Luke 2:22-24). And so, we also remember that our Lord Jesus wholly fulfilled the Law in our place.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, three French hens.

This gift is usually associated with what are traditionally called the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope, and Love. As St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

But we can also remember the Creed as well, the summary of Christian doctrine, especially that of the Gospel and how the God who created us, also redeemed us, and sanctifies us! A good exercise might be to review the creed and meaning in the Small Catechism together as a family.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, four calling birds.

For the fourth gift, and any time we hear the number four, reminds us of the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Lord chose these men to write down the events around Jesus life and His teachings so that the good news of what He has done for us may go out to all the world, to the north, south, east, and west and all places in between!

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, five golden rings.

Similarly to four making us think of the Gospels, the number five makes us think of the Five Books of Moses, also called the Penteteuch and the Torah. These were the first Scriptures which our Lord gave through Moses. Within these books we find many of the glorious promises of the Son and God’s salvation which He had planned for us. The very first already showing up in Genesis 3:15 as God speaks to the serpent saying, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, six geese-a-laying.

This one may seem odd at first, but it has been connected to the days of creation, six in all. Where the Lord carefully and wonderfully planned out creation as He formed it and filled it by His word. First He creates the day and night, then He creates the sky, then He creates the land and seas and fills the land with plants. Then for the next three days He fills the places He has created! First, He “fills” the day and night with the sun, moon, and stars, then He fills the sky with birds and the waters with fish, and finally He fills the land with animals and crowns everything with those He created in His image: humanity.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, seven swans-a-swimming.

This is often referred to speak of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which are said to be wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and the fear of the Lord. These are based on Isaiah 1:1-3a which states, “1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.¹ 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.”

We can also see the Lord’s Prayer, which is made up of seven petitions, in addition to the introduction and the conclusion. This might be a great time to review the Lord’s Prayer and meaning with your family.

¹In the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) and the Vulgate (Latin Bible) this first phrase is translated as piety, or godliness.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, eight maids-a-milking.

This reminds us of the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes.

3”Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3-10)

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, nine ladies dancing.

This one is very similar to the seventh day, but has a different referent. This day reminds us of the fruits of the Spirit which St. Paul lists in Galatians. “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:22-24).

The fruit of the Spirit certainly bring joy and are something that would inspire one to dance in gladness!

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, ten lords-a-leaping.

The tenth gift we see is ten lords-a-leaping. This reminds us of the Ten Commandments, which summarize God’s Law and His will for us as His people. While the Law shows us our sin, for those who have been born again in Christ Jesus it also shows us how God would have us order our lives and relationships. For the new man, the Law is a delight, as it shows us how to live a God-pleasing life. On this day of Christmas, why not go over the Ten Commandments in the Small Catechism with your family?

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, eleven pipers piping.

This gift reminds us of the first disciples of our Lord. While He had called twelve, one had fallen away and betrayed Him with a kiss. And so, we see here the eleven faithful disciples of our Lord to whom He appeared after His resurrection. “13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” (Luke 6:13-16)

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, twelve drummers drumming.

With the last day we get to the number twelve, a number that shows up throughout the Scriptures. This number represents the Church, the people of God. The drummers remind us of a marching band, and bring to mind that while we are here we are part of the Church militant.

But why twelve? Jacob, or Israel, had twelve sons, these sons and their descendants made up Israel and her twelve tribes. Likewise, Jesus had twelve disciples, and after Judas betrayed the Lord, Matthias was chosen to take his place so that there were still twelve. In Revelation 21:12-14 the heavenly Jerusalem is described as a city having twelve gates and twelve foundations. Thus, twelve throughout the Scriptures reminds us of the Church.