What is the 12 Days of Christmas?
Did you know the 12 Days of Christmas starts on Christmas Day and ends 12 days later on January 6th?
So, right now we are about 5 days in with gifts still coming in. Below is an explanation of season and song.
Plus, here’s an invitation to join us for a festive get-together for Dia de Los Reyes in San Jose to end the season with good music and good cheer.
Explanation:
The 12 days of Christmas in Christian theology marks the period of time between the birth of Christ on December 25th and to the arrival of the Three Wise Men to see the baby Jesus on January 6th referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day.
However, the 12 Days of Christmas most people are familiar with is the popular English Christmas carol from 1909 by English composer Frederic Austin which originated from a 1780 children’s book “Mirth Without Mischief”.
The lyrics begin:
On the first day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
a partridge in a pear tree.
From there the song adds a different gift for each of the 12 days. Because the gifts are cumulative and each day gets a repeat of the gifts from the previous days the recipient gets a total of 12 partridges, 22 turtle doves, 30 French hens, 36 calling birds, 40 gold rings, 42 geese, 42 swans, 40 maids, 36 ladies, 30 lords, 22 pipers, and 12 drummers.
In the end, the true love sends 364 gifts which is estimated to cost $209,272.00 in 2024 which I presume left a large mess with 184 birds alone. I’m guessing on the 13th day their true love sent a cleaning crew because they are still referring to the gift giver as their true love and not a stalker.
So, what’s the meaning behind the gifts?
Because the 12 days of Christmas originates in Christianity many people believe that the lyrics had hidden meaning to help Christians learn about their faith during a time when the religion was banned. The Partridge in the Pear Tree was a symbol of Christ, 2 Turtle Doves – The Old and New Testaments, 3 French Hens – Faith, Hope and Charity, 4 Calling Birds – the Four Gospels, etc… However, this theory has been historically debunked by many experts with a complete explanation on Snopes.
Nobody really knows what the gifts mean but what most people can agree on is that the season ends on January 6th and we have been left with a catchy Christmas song.
Nowadays you can enjoy the classic smooth rendition by Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters to a rousing gospel version by American Idol finalist Quintavious Johnson. And then there is a child friendly version by The Muppets with John Denver or comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s Redneck version better understood by adults.
Video:
Cantar con Los Reyes concert:
Please join us at Hector Armienta – Opera Cultura Cantar con Los Reyes on Sunday, January 4th at 2pm at the San Jose Woman’s Club.
Dia de Los Reyes is a festive event, celebrated in Spain, Mexico and other Latin American countries, that marks the end of the traditional Christmas season.
Baritone opera and mariachi singer Omar Alejandro Rodriguez will lead the fiesta with familiar holiday tunes and canciones from “La Epoca de Oro” made famous by classic artists such as Los Panchos, Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante. Feel free to join in with your voice or instrument or just enjoy the Dia de Los Reyes festivities with musica alegre, rosca de reyes, and atole!
Use code CASAQAMIGO for Discounted Tickets
$15 for Adults and FREE for children 17 and under with code.
