In the verses of the song, presents are seemingly gathered for the preparation of a grand feast. Alternatively, some interpretations suggest the lyrics tell a tale of romance, with a young man winning the affections of his beloved through the offering of gifts. The 12 Days of Christmas mark a time of relaxation and joy, bridging the gap between Christmas Day and January 6th.
The longest-standing, yet possibly least favored, traditional Christmas tune is “The 12 Days of Christmas,” replete with a lengthy list of gifts bestowed upon the song’s singer by a devoted lover. Notably, the majority of these gifts are animals or people, which might strike some as a bit odd!
Yet, what is the story behind this song? And why all the mention of birds? Discover the answers to the “12 Days of Christmas” enigmas you’ve been yearning for.
Through the years, variations have emerged (with “calling birds” sometimes being canary or colly birds, which translates to blackbirds), but the present standard list of gifts includes:
Day 1: A partridge in a pear tree
Day 2: Two turtle doves
Day 3: Three French hens
Day 4: Four calling birds
Day 5: Five golden rings
Day 6: Six geese a-laying
Day 7: Seven swans a-swimming
Day 8: Eight maids a-milking
Day 9: Nine ladies dancing
Day 10: Ten lords a-leaping
Day 11: Eleven pipers piping
Day 12: Twelve drummers drumming
The true 12 days of Christmas are celebrated from Christmas Day to Epiphany (January 6th), historically a time for relaxation, feasting, family gatherings, and general cheer.
The precise origins are unclear; however, the lyrics were first documented (without music) in the 1780 British book “Mirth Without Mischief.” The poem may have been a children’s game known as “memory and forfeits,” where participants had to recite until they made a mistake, at which point they had to pay a penalty with candy or another token. Historians suggest the poem’s roots lie in France before migrating to England, evidenced by the inclusion of partridges, which were native to France and did not arrive in England until the 18th century.
Numerous melodies have been composed for the poem, but the one most recognized is by English composer Frederic Austin, published in 1909. He revised some lyrics, including changing “colly” or “canary” birds to “calling” birds.
Many interpret the lyrics as Christian symbolism, with a theory that the song was crafted to assist Catholics in understanding their faith during a time when the religion was forbidden. It’s posited that the gifts in the song correspond to various aspects of tradition, such as the two turtle doves representing the Old and New Testaments. However, Snopes and other historians have challenged this, as the earliest connections to this symbolism were only proposed in the 1990s. Nonetheless, you are free to interpret the lyrics as you see fit!
To contemporary listeners, these gifts sound quite peculiar: half are birds (with some historians believing the “five golden rings” refer to the golden rings around a pheasant’s neck), and the other half are people.
If taken at face value, these gifts seem to be the ingredients for a lively celebration. The birds may not have been intended as pets but as food for a feast. A Tudor Christmas pie might contain several “12 Days of Christmas” birds, like a turkey stuffed with a goose, which is in turn stuffed with a chicken, a French hen, a partridge, and a pigeon, all encased in pastry and served alongside other roasted birds and rabbits. Roast goose was a popular Christmas dish (as seen in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” where Ebenezer Scrooge gifts a goose to the Cratchits), and Queen Victoria was known to enjoy roasted swans, another “12 Days of Christmas” offering.
The people in the song appear to be preparing for or participating in a festive event. Edward Phinney, a classics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, posits that the song is, in fact, a love story. “If you consider all the items being presented, they are all gifts from a lover to a woman,” Phinney commented in a 1990 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “It seems like a young man trying to impress his intended by showering her with many gifts, all things that would be useful at a wedding.”
Throughout the 12 days, true love offers 364 gifts! This is due to the cumulative nature of the gifts, with the singer receiving duplicates from previous days. In total, the singer acquires 12 partridges, 22 turtle doves, 30 French hens, 36 calling birds, 40 gold rings, 42 geese, 42 swans, 40 maids, 36 ladies, 30 lords, 22 pipers, and 12 drummers, an impressive assortment!
Indeed, the cost is substantial. For the past 40 years, PNC Bank has released its Christmas Price Index, calculating the cost of providing the full “12 Days of Christmas” experience to your true love. If you were to give all 364 gifts, it would cost over $200,000 to impress your loved one. Even if you were to give the gifts once without repeating them daily, it would still set you back nearly $47,000. (This makes Andy Bernard’s attempt to give Erin Hannon the full 12-day experience on the 2009 “Secret Santa” episode of “The Office” particularly generous, if not entirely well-advised!)
The most costly gift is “lords a-leaping,” with 10 costing over $14,500. The least expensive are “maids a-milking,” assuming they are earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, totaling just $58.
Variations of the lyrics have been numerous; one 1840 version has “part of a juniper tree” instead of “partridge in a pear tree” and “eight hares a-running” instead of eight maids. Beyond that, the song has been a perfect candidate for parody, with singers, TV shows, and comedians finding humor in it. Moreover, the carol has enjoyed worldwide popularity for centuries, with versions in Scotland, France, Sweden, and elsewhere, including one French variation that features 12 cheeses and 11 hams, which sounds quite delectable!
Here are some of our favorite interpretations:
The Muppets’ rendition of the Christmas carol (featuring John Denver) is a charming, heartwarming classic. Straight No Chaser’s a cappella version is a masterful blend of the song with other holiday hits. The SCTV parody by the McKenzie Brothers replaces turtle doves and partridges with turtlenecks and beer. Bob Rivers’ “12 Pains of Christmas” satirizes the challenges of a modern Christmas, like missing batteries and setting up lights.
The true 12 days of Christmas are from Christmas Day to Epiphany (January 6th), traditionally a period of rest, feasting, and joyous reunions. So, theoretically, the “12 Days of Christmas” carol should not be sung until Christmas Day itself. Whether you choose to celebrate these days with pipers playing and swans swimming is entirely up to you.
