After reading the parodies on "The Twelve Days of Christmas"=97which I
enjoyed=97I wondered at the true origin. Thanks to a helpful religion Prof.=
I
offer this to put in your MG stockings for next Holiday Season:
>From 1558-1829 Catholics were legally forbidden to practice their faith
openly in England (could we get some LBC content here?). In order to teach
the faith to their children, there were many codes devised and the "Twelve
Days of Christmas" is one example. The representations are:
THE SINGER of the song is an ordinary Christian; MY TRUE LOVE is God, the
Father; the PARTRIDGE is a medieval symbol of Christ (the mother partridge
fighting to death to protect her young); and THE PEAR TREE is the Cross.
TWO TURTLE DOVES represent the temple sacrifice by Joseph and Mary at the
time of Jesus=92 birth (remember, they are good Jews); THREE FRENCH HENS
represent the gifts of the Magi as they are rare and expensive; FOUR CALLING
BIRDS are the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
FIVE GOLD RINGS are the books of the Pentateuch, the first five books of
what Christians often call the "Old Testament"; SIX GEESE A-LAYING
represents the six days of creation in the Genesis account.
SEVEN SWANS A-SWIMMING are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; EIGHT MAIDS
A-MILKING are the unglamorous but nourishing Beatitudes; and, TEN LORDS
A-LEAPING are the Ten Commandments.
The ELEVEN PIPERS PIPING represent the eleven apostles who proclaimed the
resurrection and the TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING indicate the twelve points of
the Apostles Creed.
It is worth considering that while we seek to recall the history and events
of our cars=85as a source of enjoyment or definition=85so, too, do we need=
to
recall the narratives of human experience to place our lives in some
perspective. True or not, widely shared or merely an obscure novelty
(MOWOG); such knowledge shapes our views and understanding of the world.
Joe MacDoniels
=9177 RBB (rusty but loved)
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