Buzz
What’s with pipers piping, geese-a-laying, and five golden rings? And a partridge ... in a pear tree? What in the world is “The Twelve Days of Christmas” all about? The short version is that many have wondered the same, and there are nearly as many explanations as there are days in the song. Here are 12 fascinating facts to consider as we head into the 12 days of Christmas (from December 25 to January 6).
1. Many people argue the song is a hidden Catholic catechism.
Legend has it that, from the 16th to the 18th century, when being Catholic was outlawed in Protestant England, children used this song to secretly learn their faith. The partridge and pear tree symbolized Jesus Christ, the four calling birds represented the four gospels, the pipers piping stood for the 11 faithful apostles, and so on.
2. … But that’s likely a myth.
For one thing, the song doesn’t really fit the description of a catechism song. The 12 items it allegedly symbolizes—such as the books of the Bible or the six days of creation—would have been acceptable to Protestants too. Additionally, this theory seems to have gained traction only in recent decades, spreading rapidly online without any solid historical evidence.
3. The exact origin of the song remains a mystery.
While the true origin of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is unclear, it first appeared in *Mirth Without Mischief*, published around 1780, and later in James Orchard Halliwell’s *The Nursery Rhymes of England*, published in 1842. Edward Phinney, a classics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, told the *Los Angeles Times* that the song was “first published in 1868 in a book of Christmas songs in England, but it’s probably been around a lot longer than that.”
4. … It could have originated as a children’s game.
One theory suggests that it was likely “a memory and forfeit game for Twelfth Night celebrations, probably recited rather than sung,” as Reverend Mark Lawson Jones writes in *Why Was the Partridge in the Pear Tree?: A History of Christmas Carols*. “The players gathered in a circle, with the leader reciting a verse that each player would repeat. The leader would then add another verse, speaking faster and faster until a mistake was made, and the person who faltered would drop out of the game.”
In some versions of the game, it resembled a bit of *Spin the Bottle*: if a player made an error, they owed someone a kiss. In any case, the objective was to count up to 12 and back down without tripping up, forgetting a verse, or getting tangled in tricky lines like “seven swans a-swimming.”
5. Another possibility is that “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is a love song.
Phinney suggested in 1990, “If you look at all the gifts mentioned, they could all be presents from a lover to his sweetheart. Some of them, like eight maids a-milking and nine ladies dancing, are hard to actually give. All those ladies, dancing, pipers, and drummers give the impression of a wedding. It looks like a young man trying to win his lady's heart by offering her many lavish gifts, all of which would be quite handy for a wedding.”
Phinney further explained that the song is filled with symbols of fertility (maids a-milking, lords a-leaping, geese a-laying). The final gift—the partridge in a pear tree—is, in his view, the ultimate gesture of love: the pear is heart-shaped, and “the partridge is a well-known aphrodisiac.”
6. They weren’t always “four calling birds.”
There’s no such thing as “calling birds,” so earlier versions of the song’s lyrics mention “four canary birds” or “four mockingbirds.” Before that, the phrase appeared as “colly birds” or “collie birds,” which was the old term for blackbirds. (More on “calling birds” shortly.)
7. “Five golden rings” likely don’t mean what you think they do.
There’s strong evidence suggesting that “five golden rings” isn’t about jewelry but instead refers to either the yellowish rings around a pheasant’s neck or to “goldspinks,” an old name for the goldfinch, a small and pretty bird. This interpretation makes sense, especially since every other lyric in the first seven days of the song mentions a bird: partridges, turtle doves, French hens (or “fat ducks,” depending on the version), calling birds (or blackbirds), swans, and geese.
8. The partridge and its pear tree may have ties to French culture.
Another fairly plausible origin story involves the partridge itself. Some have speculated that the lyric “partridge in a pear tree” is actually an Anglicized version of the French word for partridge: *perdrix*. The original line might have been “*a partridge, une perdrix*,” which, when pronounced aloud, sounds quite similar to “a partridge in a pear tree.”
9. English composer Frederic Austin is responsible for the familiar melody we know today.
Austin published his arrangement in 1909. His version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is what gave us the way we sing “*five go-oold rings*” and the line “four calling birds.”
As Peter Armenti wrote in a 2016 post for the Library of Congress, “Austin was among the first, if not the first, to use the phrase *four calling birds*, and it took some time for it to become popular.” When Armenti compared the frequency of *four calling birds* and *four colly birds* in Google’s Ngram Viewer, he found that “it wasn’t until the 1950s and 1960s that *calling* began to rival *colly* as the preferred word, and it wasn’t until the 1970s that *calling* overtook *colly* as the dominant term in the song. As the word *colly* fell out of common use, it’s no surprise that Austin’s similar-sounding *calling* became more popular, even if no one really knows what a ‘calling bird’ is!”
10. There are countless renditions and parodies of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
Over the years, countless versions of the song have been done by everyone from the Chipmunks and Winnie the Pooh (“a hunny pot inna hollow tree!”) to Ren and Stimpy, Lucille Ball, and even Ol' Blue Eyes himself. In Sinatra’s version, he swaps out the birds for quirky gifts like “Five ivory combs,” “Four mission lights,” “Three golf clubs,” “Two silken scarfs,” and “a most lovely lavender tie.” Meanwhile, Seattle radio host Bob Rivers created a version where he replaces the traditional gifts with Christmas inconveniences, like “sending Christmas cards,” “facing my in-laws,” and of course, “finding a Christmas tree,” resulting in “The Twelve Pains of Christmas.”
11. … And it even made its way to *The Office.*
In a 2009 episode of the American version of *The Office*, Andy Bernard, acting as Erin’s Secret Santa, attempts to woo her by giving her every gift from the “Twelve Days of Christmas” list. Confused by the parade of large birds showing up at her desk, Erin begs her Secret Santa to stop due to injuries caused by the wild animals. In the end, Andy admits to the poorly thought-out gifts, just as a loud procession of 12 drummers bursts into the scene.
12. All the gifts in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” could cost a pretty penny.
Every year since 1984, a team of economists at PNC Wealth Management have calculated the cost of buying all the items on the “Twelve Days of Christmas” list. The annual Christmas Price Index tracks inflation and the rising costs of certain goods. This year, for example, purchasing everything on the list would cost you $45,523.27. Factor in the song’s repetition, which totals 364 gifts, and you’re looking at $197,071.09. Compare that to 1990, when the total came to $23,366.09. In today’s economy, hiring 12 drummers drumming will set you back $3,266.93, while seven swans will cost an eye-popping $13,124.93.
