were the 12 days of christmas embedded with a hidden meaning for Catholics?

Factual Questions
1

My girlfriend received this email from her father. I doubt the authenticity of the argument because it seems as though any number could be found in the bible and attached to any meaning. I couldn’t find anything on Snopes. Any ideas whether or not this is legitimate?

The email:
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to
practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a
catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the
surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their
church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality,
which the children could remember.

  • The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
  • Two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments .
  • Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
  • The four ca! lling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke &
    John.
  • The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of
    the Old Testament.
  • The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
  • Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy
    Spirit-Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution,
    Leadership, and Mercy.
  • The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
  • Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit-Love, Joy,
    Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self
    Control.
  • The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
  • The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
  • The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief inThe Apostles’ Creed. So there is your history for today . This knowledge
    was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I
    know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol. Feel free to pass it
    on if you find it to be interesting.
2

You didn’t look too hard.

I just typed ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ into their search box.

First hit.

3

No, the song had no such hidden meaning for Catholics.

Even if, for example, knowing that the 4 Calling Birds symbolized the 4 Gospels, exactly what theological purpose would that serve? That wouldn’t tell anything about what was *ini/i] the 4 Gospels. And the Anglican Church had 4 Gospels, too. The whole idea is just silly.
Oh, what the Hell. Here’s the Snopes article for it, too.

4

I never did understand the point of Catholics hiding their beliefs when they are shared by the Anglicans.
I think the creator of Faithmouse disagrees with snopes article on the 12 days of Christmas.