Twelve Days of Christmas

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out.

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 turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
-The four calling 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 in the 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...so pass it on if you wish.'

Statement of Faith: Things I believe

About God...

There is only one true God. He is the Creator of all life and the Supreme Ruler of the universe. He has always been (He is eternal) and co-exists equally in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. We learn about God through His creation, His Word, and His Son. God loves us more than we can imagine.

About Jesus Christ...

Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God. Co-equal with God the Father and God the Spirit, He came to earth and became man. He was completely God while at the same time being fully man. He revealed to us who God is. His miraculous acts, sinless life, and life-changing teachings all confirm the fact that He is God's Son. His purpose for coming to Earth was to show God's love by dying on a cross, thus taking the sins of all mankind upon Himself, and paying the penalty that our sins deserve. His bodily resurrection from the grave and His promise to return someday are testimonies to the fact that He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus desires the deepest of relationship with every person.

About the Holy Spirit...

The Holy Spirit is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. He dwells in each member of God's family as a Helper and Guide. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that a person comes to salvation. At the point of salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our physical bodies as His home. He provides help to every Christian to do what is right, strength to serve Jesus, and direction for living life God's way. Every Christian is to allow God's Spirit to help him on a daily basis.

About Salvation...

We need salvation because we have sinned. Sin separates us from God who desires relationship with us. It is impossible for any man to restore that broken relationship with God by any amount of personal goodness, religious deeds, or by belonging to a church. We cannot earn, merit or achieve a right relationship with God by our own efforts. The death of Jesus was not an accident. It was God's plan from the beginning to save us from our sins through the death of Jesus Christ. The Bible calls God's act of love, grace. His grace is His gift to us. The way we receive His gift is by entering into a covenant relationship with Jesus by placing our trust and faith in Him. When we decide that we will follow Jesus for the rest of our lives, we demonstrate our trust in Jesus by obeying His command to be immersed (baptized) in water demonstrating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

About the Church...

The Church is God's spiritual family. It is made up of all those who have chosen to place their trust and faith in Jesus and who are His followers (disciples). The Church is not a building or one particular group of believers. To belong to the Church, is to belong to Jesus. The Bible uses the analogy that Jesus is the Head of the Church, which is His body. God's will is for the Church to gather regularly to worship its Head, Jesus, to use its various gifts and abilities to serve its Head, to love and encourage those who are in the body, and to work diligently to maintain the unity of the body. As the members of His Church love one another and maintain unity of purpose and relationship, the world around us will recognize that we belong to Jesus. The Church or body is to seek to do the will of God, which also includes loving and saving the world through Jesus Christ.

For more information please visit Richland Hills Church of Christ

http://www.rhchurch.org/