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

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-12-days-of-christmas-embedded-with-a-hidden-meaning-for-catholics/338012>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 2, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-12-days-of-christmas-embedded-with-a-hidden-meaning-for-catholics/338012 "2006-01-02T00:16:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chefIL11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chefIL11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefIL11)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-12-days-of-christmas-embedded-with-a-hidden-meaning-for-catholics/338012/1 "2006-01-02T00:16:58Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-12-days-of-christmas-embedded-with-a-hidden-meaning-for-catholics/338012/2 "2006-01-02T00:26:02Z")

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> [@chefIL11](#):
>
> …I couldn’t find anything on Snopes…

[You didn’t look too hard.](http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/12days.asp)

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

First hit.

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**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-12-days-of-christmas-embedded-with-a-hidden-meaning-for-catholics/338012/3 "2006-01-02T00:28:40Z")

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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](http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/12days.asp) for it, too.

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**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-12-days-of-christmas-embedded-with-a-hidden-meaning-for-catholics/338012/4 "2006-01-02T01:08:37Z")

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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.