Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Trivia

This is very interesting......

1958 - A Christmas Carol

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? Today I found out, thanks to the Internet.

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.
  • The two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
  • The three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
  • The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew,Mark, Luke and 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.
  • The 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 (the pronouncements in the Sermon on the Mount, which begin"Blessed are the poor in spirit": Matt. 5:3-12).
  • The 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 . . .

posted by The Office Grapevine at 2:17 PM  

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