So we've made it to the holiday season...my favorite time of the year! Sense the sarcasim people- I am a summer girl. I love the fourth of July the most, but regardless, Christmas is nice, when we don't have snow in Pittsburgh!
To celebrate the holiday, the WWB girls will be giving you a taste of our own 12 Working Days of Christmas. Think of the song...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8. Do you really know the true meaning behind the 12 Days of Christmas? We didn't either, but here is what we found out.
A long, long time ago in England (like serious, 1558), Catholics were prohibted from any practice of their faith by law, in the privacy of their own home or in public. Basically, it was a crime to be Catholic. If caught, they could be imprisioned, hanged, shortened by the head (which would make me like 4 foot 5...midget status), or even suffocated to death.
So as a way to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith, they created the 12 Days of Christmas song as a memory aid. The songs gifts have hidden meanings to teach the faith. The true love mentioned throughout the song is God, the partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ, and me is every person who is baptized.
The other symbols mean:
2 Turtle Doves: The old and new testments
3 French Hens: Faith, hope and charity, the theological virtures
4 Calling Birds: The four gospels and/or the four evangelists
5 Golden Rings: The first five books of the old testments, the "pentateuch" which gives the history of man's fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying: The six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming: The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking: The eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing: The nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping: The ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping: The eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming: The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed
Did you have any idea there was so much meaning to a song that we grew up singing? I honestly can't ever remember singing it in church or Sunday school. Can you? See if others know the meaning, or what the song means to them.
Follow us for the next 12 Working Days of Christmas for what each means to us. We will have great group photos to share that I am sure will make your day. Please let us know what each day means to you when we post. We always enjoy feedback.
Happy Holidays!
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