What do 12 days of Christmas mean? Would you want all those gifts of birds? Honestly, I’d wish for something besides birds after just one partridge and two turtle doves! However, the song indicates you’ll receive three calling birds and four French hens! 🙄 Finally, you get five golden rings and think Thank goodness! No more birds! However, next are six geese and seven swans! Not to mention the repeats of the verses. So technically, you’re getting 12 partridges, 22 turtle doves, 30 French hens, 36 calling birds, 42 geese, and 42 swans.

Is there any spiritual connection to this funny song? Let’s explore some theories behind the days and the gifts.

When are the 12 days of Christmas?

The time between the birth of Christ and the day the Magi or three kings were said to arrive in Bethlehem is what most people consider the 12 days of Christmas. Therefore, the twelve days begin on Christmas Day. It ends on January 6th, The Epiphany or Three Kings Day. In some regions of Spain, Europe, and Latin America, The Three Kings Day is celebrated more than Christmas Day. Because the Magi brought gifts to Jesus, the tradition is to give gifts on this day instead of Christmas. The Bible tells us about three gifts the Magi brought in Matthew 2. The gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh illustrate who Christ was and the gospel message. Read more about that here.

So how did we get from gold, frankincense, and myrrh to all those birds?

No one knows precisely when and why the song about The 12 Days of Christmas was written. Most believe it began as a children’s memory game in French. Then, around 1780, an English version was first printed in the children’s book Mirth without Mischief. It was a poem without music where children played a game, reciting each new phrase while remembering the previous one.

The actual items for each day have changed to different versions.

In 1979, a Canadian hymnologist, Hugh D. McKellar, said the 12 Days of Christmas lyrics were a way for Christians to learn about their faith from 1558 to 1829. During this time, Christianity was against the law. Therefore, the 12 Days of Christmas was a type of secret code representing different aspects of the Christian faith. However, no evidence was given for this claim. In 1982, Hal Stockert wrote an article suggesting that the twelve gifts could be used to teach different aspects of the Christian faith.

Religious Meanings to the 12 Days of Christmas

• The partridge in the pear tree represents Jesus
• The two turtle doves signify the Old and New Testament.
• The three French hens are Faith, Hope, and Charity,
• The four calling birds are the four gospels.
• The five golden rings are reportedly the first five books of the Old Testament.
• The six geese represent the six days of creation
• The seven swans are the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
• The eight maids are Jesus’s blessings at the Sermon on the Mount.
• The nine ladies dancing are the nine different fruits of the Holy Spirit
• The ten lords are the Ten Commandments
• The eleven pipers represent the eleven faithful apostles
• The twelve drummers drumming are the twelve points of the doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed.

The Lyrics

What are 12 Days of Christmas lyrics? The lyrics to the 12 Days of Christmas have changed over the years. Wikipedia offers an excellent chart of the different variations. Also, Dawn Stephens Books offers a coloring book with Little Pot for the 12 days of Christmas. Consequently, the images follow these lyrics:

On the 1st day of Christmas, the potter gave to me 1 partridge in a pear tree.
On the second day of Christmas the potter gave to me 2 turtle doves,
and I partridge in a pear tree.
On the 3rd day of Christmas the potter gave to me 3 French hens, 2 turtledoves,
and 1 partridge in a pear tree.On the 4th day of Christmas, the potter gave to me 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtledoves, and 1 partridge in a pear tree.
… continuing through …
On the 12th day of Christmas, the potter gave to me 12 drummers drumming, 11 pandas
piping, 10 frogs a leaping, 9 dancers dancing, 8 cows a milking, 7 seven swans a swimming,
6 geese a laying, 5 golden rings, 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtledoves,
and I partridge in a pear tree.

-Little Pot’s 12 Days of Christmas

Download a FREE copy of the Lyrics and a coloring sheet.

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How many gifts are in the 12 days of Christmas?

The 12 days of Christmas can make for a fun math game of multiplication and addition. The gifts multiply each day and are then added to the previous day. Therefore, by the end of the twelfth day, the recipient did not get one partridge in a pear tree but 12 partridges in 12 pear trees. Moreover, the 9 ladies dancing on the 9th day were given again on the 10th, 11th, and 12th day, totaling 36 dancers dancing (9X4). 364 gifts were given and received once all the repetitions were counted.

• 12 partridges in pear trees (1 X 12 days)
• 22 turtle doves (2 X 11 days)
• 30 French hens (3 X 10 days)
• 36 calling birds (4 X 9 days)
• 40 golden rings (5 X 8 days)
• 42 geese a laying (6 X 7 days)
• 42 swans a-swimming (7 X 6 days)
• 40 cows a milking (8 X 5 days)
• 36 dancers dancing (9 X 4 days)
• 30 frogs a leaping (10 X 3 days)
• 22 pandas piping (11 X 2 days)
• 12 drummers drumming (12 X 1 day)

It can also be fun to graph each gift and compare the amounts. Most children do not realize that there are more geese and swans at the end of the 12 days than drummers.

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By Dawn Stephens