I never read forwards but I got this in the midst of some tree photos and found it interesting. Drew Loves this song and he makes me read the book we have of it. I have never cared much for it, but now can appreciate it more!
By the way I love these plates from William Sonoma!
Enjoy.
*****Caution this story is not correct****
But Enjoy anyway.
"There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me.
What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,
swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out
of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?
This week, I found out.
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 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 & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first fiv e 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, Exhort ation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladi es 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.
So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.'
Merry (Twelve Days of) Christmas Everyone"
3 comments:
I saw those in the WS catalog and loved them! Good taste, BFF!
Hate to burst your bubble, but just FYI that story actually isn't true. Check it out at truthorfiction.com and snopes.com.
It is a good story, though. Just thought you might want to know that it isn't actually accurate. :)
Thanks Bobby, I usually check out that kind of stuff, but I really didn't care either way and thought it was interesting...mostly I like the plates.
Thanks.
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