The 12 days of Christmas in Western Christianity refer to the time between Christ’s birth on Dec. 25 and the arrival of the Magi to honor the newborn, known as Epiphany, on Jan. 6.

Twelve drummers? Ten leaping lords? Two turtle doves?

Chances are, the gifts in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” are not high on anyone’s Christmas list this year. In fact, it’s hard to imagine they were ever popular presents.

“It’s not a literal song,” said Mickey Mullany, a professional caroler in Baltimore who admits to sometimes forgetting parts of the famously long lyrics. “If it was a literal song, it would be monstrous.”

Indeed, in the NBC sitcom “The Office,” a salesman attempts to kindle romance with a co-worker by sending her presents from “The Twelve Days.” After her cat kills the turtledoves and the French hens nest in her hair, the co-worker begs him to please, stop.

“Is it my fault the first eight days are basically 30 birds?” the lovesick salesman protests.

Given their unsuitability as gifts, how did dancing ladies, piping pipers, and a bevy of birds become part of one of the season’s best-known carols? What, if anything, do they symbolize?

It depends on whom you ask.

The song has French origins, and was published in an English children’s book called “Mirth without Mischief” around 1780. Most people believe it began as a memory game sung at Twelfth Night parties. The 12 days of Christmas in Western Christianity refer to the time between Christ’s birth on Dec. 25 and the arrival of the Magi to honor the newborn, known as Epiphany, on Jan. 6.

In recent times, the song has been searched for coded references to Catholic doctrine, ancient Egyptian holidays, Roman myths, and the menu at medieval feasts……

In the 1990s, a story began floating around the Internet that “The Twelve Days” was used as a secret catechism by Catholics persecuted after the Reformation in England. The “true love” who offers the gifts refers to God, according to this theory. The partridge is Jesus, the two turtle doves are the Old and New Testaments, the three French hens represent the virtues of faith, hope and charity, and so on.

Read More: http://www.ethicsdaily.com/legends-abound-for-lords-a-leaping-and-maids-a-milking-in-twelve-days-cms-17207