The Twelve Days Of Christmas: A Timeless Carol With Enduring Significance - Christmas Presents Kids 2024 (2024)

FAQs

What is the significance of the gifts in 12 Days of Christmas? ›

Per this theory, each gift on the list symbolizes a different aspect of the Christian faith: The Partridge in the Pear Tree is Jesus Christ. The 2 Turtle Doves are The Old and New Testaments. The 3 French hens are Faith, Hope and Charity, the theological virtues.

Basically, it's been said that the song was a way for Christians to secretly preach their faith without being punished. According to the theory, this is what each lyric represents: The partridge in a pear tree = Jesus Christ. 2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments.

The 12 days of Christmas is the period in Christian theology that marks the span between the birth of Christ and the coming of the Magi, the three wise men. It begins on December 25 (Christmas) and runs through January 6 (the Epiphany, sometimes also called Three Kings' Day).

It is a special date for many Christians as it's when people celebrate how a star led the Magi - also known as the Three kings or the Wise Men - to visit the baby Jesus after he had been born. 'Epiphany' comes from the Greek word meaning 'to reveal', as it is when the baby Jesus was 'revealed' to the world.

The twelfth day of Christmas was known as Twelfth Night. It marked the night before the feast of the Epiphany, the coming of the wise men to visit the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Twelfth Night might have signalled the end of Christmas, but people celebrated it with great feasts, games and plays.

Each day represents a new gift, starting with 'a partridge in a pear tree' and ending with 'twelve drummers drumming'. It's a traditional English tune dating back to the 1700s, which some historians actually believe to have French origins.

This discrepancy means that the lunar year is 11 days—or 12 nights—shorter than the solar year. To keep them synchronized, people needed to add 12 days to the lunar calendar. The 12 days of Christmas are just a holdover from that ancient calendar correction.

This was the lengthy celebration of choice for Celtic Pagans, and not just to ring in the new year, but rather to acknowledge and reflect upon each month of the ending year before it concludes. This time also comprises what is referred to as the 12 days of Christmas.

Now you simply need to substitute 'n' with the number 12 (the twelfth tetrahedral number) and you've solved our puzzle! So there you've got it! Your true love has given you a whopping number of 364 gifts over the 12 Days of Christmas. That's almost one gift a day for a whole year!

It's likely you are familiar with the carol, “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Moreover, you have probably sung it. But, have you ever noted how many birds are within the lyrics? To save you the time of counting, I'll just tell you. There are six birds given as gifts in the song.

How much did the gifts in the 12 days of Christmas cost? ›

The cost of the dozen gifts outlined in the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song rang in at an all-time high of $46,729.86 this year, according to PNC Financial Services' 2023 Christmas Price Index, a lighthearted seasonal report that measures the average change in prices for the solo partridge, two turtle doves, seven ...

One idea is that the 12 days represent the time it takes for Christmas to fall on the same day each year, as well as the time it takes for Jesus to be born. Another theory is that the 12 gifts are meant to represent Jesus and his 12 apostles. Another theory is that the 12 days represent the 12 months of the year.

Christians who celebrate the Twelve Days may give gifts on each of them, with each of the Twelve Days representing a wish for a corresponding month of the new year. They may feast on traditional foods and otherwise celebrate the entire time through the morning of the Solemnity of Epiphany.

This Twelfth Night is historically the time of year that your decorations should be taken down. Leaving your tree, tinsel and lights up any longer than this - or even taking them down before - is thought to bring bad luck for the New Year.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree - Jesus Christ. Two Turtle Doves - The Old and New Testaments. Three French Hens - The three virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. Four Calling/Collie Birds - Four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Typically at the end of the 12 days, you would have received 12 partridges in pear trees, 22 turtle doves, 30 French hens, 36 calling birds, 40 gold rings, 42 geese laying eggs, 42 swans, 40 milking maids, 36 dancing ladies, 30 leaping lords, 22 piping pipers and 12 drumming drummers from your true love, but with the ...

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . a partridge in a pear tree. The partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on the first day of Christmas. Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge, a bird that will die to protect its young.

Replacing 'n' with the number 12 in this formula (we call this 'substitution'), the twelfth tetrahedral number – and the answer to our puzzle – is T(12) = (1/6)(12)(13)(14) = 364, or one gift for every day of the year except for Christmas Day itself!