From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.
The True Love was the love of God the Father for his people.May thanks to Her Excellency Anne Leahy for passing this on.
The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John.
The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
18 decembre - San Malachia O'Morgair (Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair)
5 comments:
wow I never knew that about that christmas carol.
I hadn't heard that either! Fascinating!
Oh,Snap!..Suddenly,it all makes perfect sense!..My word veri is 'dined'..as in the very last supper.
some one showed this to me last year and i was really amazed..pretty sneaky of them
Very interesting ... almost sounds like a government conspiracy ... heehee ... Thank you William for sharing this, I didn't know that either ...
For all you hoser's out there, I'd like to include the bob and doug version ... I'm somewhat well familiar with their choice of beverage to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas ... :)
A Beer ... in a tree (eventually)
2 Turtlenecks
3 French Toast
4 Pounds of back bacon
5 Golden toques!
6 Packs of smokes
7 Cases of 24
8 Comic books
Due to extenuating circumstances, numbers 9-12 were not included in this version ... :D
heehee
God bless you all, God bless everyone away from their family and friends in this time of year ... if you think of it, for the Canadians reading this, please drop a line to one of the men or women of our Canadian Forces overseas ... http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/Commun/message/index-eng.asp ...
Many thanks, and best wishes to all for the holidays!
2 dogs
David Smith
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