Twelve Days Of Christmas – On The First Day
Posted on Tuesday, December 25th, 2012
Welcome to my Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway!
I’m going to have a little fun tying a bit of my old catechism and Christmas into an introduction and a chance to win the fun book I am so happy to be a part of:
Tangerine Tango.
In this book, twelve women writers have gathered together to share stories of life, love, loss, pain, pleasure… so many moments and memories.
And, I thought, what better way to share stories from these twelve writers than with a story about another twelve stories.
I have always been intrigued with “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as it relates to the teachings of the church. During the dark days of the church when Henry VIII was refused a divorce to marry Anne Boleyn, and as a result declared himself head of the Church in England, the teachings of the church had to go underground.
In order to continue the catechism, stories and songs were created to inform the faithful without being obvious to the enemies of the church. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was written in 16th century England to be a simple mnemonic teaching tool to help with basic church doctrine.
“The Twelve Days of Christmas” starts liturgically on Christmas Day and ends on the Feast of the Epiphany. Symbolism has always been used, in every religion, to explain doctrine. I’m not a theologian or a Bible scholar; I just find this interesting and meaningful. Here is the explanation of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as a catechism lesson (source Catholic.net):
- “My true love” refers to God; “gave to Me” is the individual believer.
- “Twelve lords a leaping” are the twelve basic beliefs as outlined in the Apostles Creed.
- “Eleven pipers piping” are the eleven Apostles who remained faithful.
- “Ten ladies dancing” are the Ten Commandments.
- “Nine drummers drumming” are the nine choirs of angels, especially important in the days of class distinction.
- “Eight maids a milking” are the Eight Beatitudes.
- “Seven swans a swimming” are the Seven Sacraments.
- “Six geese a laying” are the Six Commandments of the Church or the six days of creation.
- “Five golden rings” are the first five books of the Most Sacred Old Testament called the Torah.
- “Four calling birds” are the Four Gospels.
- “Three French hens” are the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, or three gifts of the Wise Men.
- “Two turtle doves” represent the human and divine Jesus, or the Old and New Testaments.
- “Partridge” is Jesus himself, in a “Pear tree” is the Cross.
As a Catholic who learned her catechism, this is all very helpful. But, it’s also a good excuse to procrastinate in my family. We rarely get all our gifts together before Christmas. Instead, we use the church’s liturgical season, the Twelve Days of Christmas, to stretch out our shopping and to drag out the season. It works for us!
So, here’s how I would like to stretch out this Christmas season. I am going to share an excerpt from the book Tangerine Tango every day for the next twelve days – The Twelve Days of Christmas. In each excerpt, I hope you’ll find something to intrigue you to want to learn more.
Oh, did I mention a chance to win?
After you read the excerpt from Tangerine Tango, be sure to comment with your thoughts. At the end of the Twelve Days, I’ll throw all the names in a hat and draw a name to win a printed copy of Tangerine Tango. Your name will be entered each time you comment, so comment often! Now, enjoy this short excerpt…
Bringing Back Dad
by
Barbara Younger
“Take some of his CDs,” my mom said, and I did. But I didn’t play them. I couldn’t.
I had a few dreams that my father wasn’t really dead. He called us. “I’m fine,” he said, standing in a phone booth. “I’ll be home soon.”
But he didn’t come home.
And for about six months I had the strange feeling that I could bring him back.
But Dad didn’t reappear. And his CDs sat on my kitchen shelf. Silent.
But then one day I played one.
(Meet Barbara Younger at FriendForTheRide.com)
To keep reading, please click on and order your own copy of Tangerine Tango – available both as a cute paperback or as a download. (Proceeds after expenses are donated to aid research for the cure for Huntington disease.)
And don’t forget to leave a comment below for a chance to win your very own printed copy of Tangerine Tango!
I’ll be back tomorrow with the next day’s excerpt. Until then, enjoy the Season!
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Exciting to read my piece on your cool and insightful blog. Had fun this week playing Dad’s Christmas CD’s! Happy holidays. Talk to you lots in 2013.
I’m glad you’re enjoying my 12 Days feature. 😉 I had a lot of fun dreaming it up. I’m so glad you played your Dad’s CDs. It’s so important to keep our family, both here and departed, close to us always. Have a wonderful season and we’ll talk soon!
What a great idea. Thanks Patti.
Thank you, Donna. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 😉