The 12 Days of Christmas Carol - Wow - More than just a Christmas Carol

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frankyfive

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Wow!

As a returning Catholic, I am often amazed to learn things I had never known about our faith. As part of my penance, my pastor encouraged me to read up on “Advent” …to go beyond my childhood knowledge of the ‘Christmas’ season.

I happened to stumble on EWTN’s webpage “Advent terms and definitions”
(Go to the bottom part of page)

Seemed like a good primer on our Advent Season and some our traditions …and then I hit the bottom of the page on the ’Origin of the 12 Days of Christmas’

Whoa!!! I had NO idea this was created as somewhat of a secret code to help children learn and remember the tenants of our faith.

Each day has specific meaning tied to our faith
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
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To quote the page:
“The Twelve Days of Christmas” was written in England as one of the “catechism songs” to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith - a memory aid, when to be caught with anything in writing indicating adherence to the Catholic faith could not only get you imprisoned, it could get you hanged, or shortened by a head - or hanged, drawn and quartered, a rather peculiar and ghastly punishment I’m not aware was ever practiced anywhere else.
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I had absolutely NO idea. Going to have to thank my pastor for this penance. Renewed and Inspired! 👍
 
I’m surprised the EWTN is publishing this myth that has been busted.

From EWTN:
Catholics in England during the period 1558 to 1829, when Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England, were prohibited from ANY practice of their faith by law - private OR public. It was a crime to BE a Catholic.
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The Anglican church taught the same things that are in the song. There is nothing that is exclusively Catholic in the 12 Days of Christmas.

Sorry, you encountered this. I remember when I first read this and the excitement of “knowing” a little known piece of Catholic history. And later learning that it is just a song. :o
 
Sorry Franky but it just ain’t so. My go-to hoax buster snopes.com covered this. There are lots of things wrong with the theory that the song is supposed to be a memory aid for persecuted Catholics. Here are just 2
Two very large red flags indicate that the claim about the “secret” origins of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is nothing more than a fanciful tale, similar to the many apocryphal “hidden meanings” of various nursery rhymes:
• There is absolutely no documentation or supporting evidence for this claim whatsoever, other than mere repetition of the claim itself.
• The claim appears to date only to the 1990s, marking it as likely an invention of modern day speculation rather than historical fact.
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The rest of the article makes for insightful reading.
 
Whether it is true or not doesn’t matter to me. This interpretation of the song makes a repetitive song a little more palatable. So, if people want to view the gifts with a Christian spin, I don’t have a problem with that.
 
Bruised_Reed said:
I’m surprised the EWTN is publishing this myth that has been busted.
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👍
seagal said:
Sorry Franky but it just ain’t so. My go-to hoax buster snopes.com covered this. There are lots of things wrong with the theory that the song is supposed to be a memory aid for persecuted Catholics. Here are just 2

The rest of the article makes for insightful reading.
Click to expand...
Whenever I hear this old canard, I wonder how high one would need count before finding a number which *cannot *related to scripture or the catechism?
  • Fourteen? Number of generations from Abraham to David, from David to Babylon, and Babylon to Christ.
  • Fiffteen? Height of the floodwaters above the mountains.
  • Sixteen? Age of Azarias when he became King.
  • …
:hmmm:
tee
 
tee_eff_em said:
👍

Whenever I hear this old canard, I wonder how high one would need count before finding a number which cannot related to scripture or the catechism?
  • Fourteen? Number of generations from Abraham to David, from David to Babylon, and Babylon to Christ.
  • Fiffteen? Height of the floodwaters above the mountains.
  • Sixteen? Age of Azarias when he became King.
  • …
:hmmm:
tee
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It would be an infinite number as God is infinite.
 
Irishmom2 said:
Whether it is true or not doesn’t matter to me. This interpretation of the song makes a repetitive song a little more palatable. So, if people want to view the gifts with a Christian spin, I don’t have a problem with that.
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Nothing at all wrong with putting a Christian spin on an old song. It’s kind of like that old Tex Ritter song (yes I’m dating myself) about the soldier and the deck of cards and how every card reminded him of a some item of the Christian faith. Nobody would ever claim that cards were invented for that purpose, but if they’re useful that way, why not?
 
Seriously…I’ve been duped…and by EWTN. :confused:

Ugh. Would have been a great story to share with my little ones. Glad I posted in on here and got some hits.

My gullibility has been violated…lol.
I bummed though. I know now that I have to check sources even if it seems reputable.

Thanks all!
 
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