Legends behind the "12 days of Christmas"

Factual Questions
1

I know about the story* about the song being a code used by persecuted catholics in 15th-16th century England.
However, during a discussion about hidden messages in nursery rhymes, one person mention that the song, “12 days of Christmas”, means “something”.
I mentioned the story about the persecuted catholics, but the person dismissed it and said it meant something else.

So were there any other legends about the “12 days of Christmas” song?

*I know that the story is an urban legend but it was just a disscussion

2

I only recall the proposal that it was simply an amusing counting song.

You might look over the Snopes page debunking the “persecuted Catholics” story to see whether any of the other suggestions ring a bell.

3

And do the Jews get their world domination from “Chad Gadya”? :rolleyes:

It just a memory builder, similar to “The House that Jack Built” or “Only One Kid.” Only a loopy conspiracy freak would think there was a deeper meaning in it.

4

In the traditional Anglican liturgical calendar of the church year , the Twelve Days of Christmas are the ecclesiastical season of Christmas, which is twelve days long, starting on Christmas Day (December 25) and ending on January 5. Christmas season is followed by the Epiphany on January 6 (commemorates the Adoration of the Magi), which is the beginning of Epiphany season.

Since the carol is an English song, I’ve always assumed it referred to the Christmas season in the Anglican calendar.

tom, does the Roman Catholic calendar not maintain this term?

5

Catholics recognize the Twelve Days of Christmas–December 26 - January 6. (We don’t sing Christmas hymns until Christmas Day, limiting the hymns before that to Advent hymns.) The only issue is whether there was a specific religious symbolism to that song. I am not aware of any religious messages, any more than in Deck Us All With Boston Charlie or other songs from the season that carry no religious message.