12 days of Christmas is all about the festivities that start after the
Christmas Day. It starts on the evening of 26th December and continue till Epiphany, that is 6th January. The 12 days of Christmas is linked to the time of persecution of the Catholics in England.
Catholics in England were severely punished for practicing their faith from 1558 to 1829.
The monarchy and the Parliament were strongly against Catholicism and any practicing Catholic, if caught, met with a ghastly punishment. 12 days of Christmas originated in England to help young Catholics understand their faith better.
The 12 days of Christmas give an account of continuous revelry and great joy in the Middle Ages. Youngsters in the Catholic families had to learn by heart the canon of their faith, contained in the song of twelve days of Christmas. This was the normal custom as any written document could cause trouble. The words were all symbolic, and “true love” as mentioned here refers to the God just as “me” refers to a baptized person. The other living beings mentioned in the song, for example, hen or geese or swan is also symbolic. During the 12 days of Christmas social rules were remarkably slack and it was a common sight to see men dressed as women and vice versa. Servants in the family got a better treatment from their masters.
The 12 days of Christmas song is a combination of verses. Over the years each verse has had some additions or a new one was created based on the older version. Sing the song of 12 days of Christmas with Christmas Carnivals.
