What The ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ Really Means

We are all familiar with the song "Twelve Days of Christmas."  I remember in Sunday School, we would be assigned a character, dress up in costume and sing the song in church for our family and the rest of the congregation.

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I was one of the drummers drumming and I gave it my all, much to the chagrin of those around me. We've all heard the song along with the Twelve Days variation by Bob and Doug McKenzie and  Bob Rivers (12 Pains of Christmas).

Did you know that the Twelve Days of Christmas is actually about the 12 days AFTER Christmas, not before. Apparently it's the amount of time that it took after the birth of Jesus for the wise men to travel to Bethlehem for the Epiphany.

The magi realized He was the Son of God and that's why the holiday called the "Feast of the Epiphany" is on January 6th. That might be true but what the 12 days actually stand for is a much better story.

What The Twelve Days Of Christmas Stands For

1 Partridge in a Pear Tree: Jesus Christ

2 Turtle Doves: The Old and New Testaments

3 French Hens: Faith, Hope, and Charity --The 3 Theological Virtues

4 Calling Birds: The 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)

5 Golden Rings: The first 5 Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch," which relays the history of man's fall from grace.

6 Geese A-laying: The 6 days of Creation

7 Swans A-swimming: The 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit

8 Maids A-milking: The 8 Beatitudes

9 Ladies Dancing: The 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit

10 Lords A-leaping: The 10 Commandments

11 Pipers Piping: The 11 Faithful Apostles

12 Drummers Drumming: The 12 points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed.

Whether the Twelve Days of Christmas is meant to be before or after Christmas, doesn't really matter. To me, it's an awesome way to remember twelve different things that are given to us through the Bible.

By the way, if your looking for a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service in the area, Two Rivers Church in Johnson City. Candlelight Christmas Eve at 5 p.m. and Christmas Day service at 11 a.m.

If you say that you don't know anyone there...not true. I'll be there and you can sit by me. By the way, if you wanted to actually but the "12 Days of Christmas," it'll cost you 10.5% more this year with the 12 Days price of $45,523.00.