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On the final day of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’, or Epiphany Eve, the gift famously bestowed was 12 drummers drumming which is probably my favourite of all the extravagant presents gifted over the dozen days outlined in the carol. Though illustrations in children’s books typically depict the drummers as jolly toy soldiers, the kind…
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me, eleven pipers piping… Celebrating the eleven faithful apostles, the eleven pipers piping segment of the song historically refers to Jesus’ closest and most loyal disciples. However, for a lot of today’s listeners the reference could be taken more literally, prompting images of the…
There is a place in England called The House of Lords It’s not the one David played to please them with chords. One of the most well-known lords is Lord Alan Sugar He often called people a little bugger He lived in an East London council flat He impressed from a young age with his…
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, nine ladies dancing… According to the song’s tradition, the gift represents the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. However, its literal meaning provides the perfect opportunity to appreciate nine great female dancers, past…
The 8th day of Christmas presents the singer with maids a-milking. Nowadays there’s not much call for milk maids, as technology has improved the efficiency and cost of milking cows. So in that spirit, I’ve written a short story about a young milkmaid that falls in love. I call it… There’s Something About Dairy It…
On the Seventh Day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven swans-a-swimming. Firstly, when considering the logistics of the various gifts given as detailed in the familiar song, ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’, I would suggest this is one of the more difficult presents to source; Lords will typically do anything for money,…
In the popular Christmas carol, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’, six geese a-laying were delivered during the sixth day. With eggs symbolising new life and creation, the original meaning of the lyric supposedly refers to God’s creation of the world, which took six days to complete according to religious beliefs. However, within a modern society…
In the popular Christmas song, the tune appears to take a breath on the fifth day, as it all slows down for the gift of five gold rings. Now whilst some may argue over the significance of the rings and what they represent, like the Books of Moses, I’m more intrigued by the way gold…
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, four calling birds… Which might well be a wondrous gift to receive from my beloved, if only I knew what ‘calling birds’ were? The four calling birds element of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ has seen many changes since the song was published…
On a cold winter’s night, deep in the woodlands and farm hills of the South of France there was a young farmer called Raphael. He spent his days working on his father’s farm that was left to him a year ago after his passing. In the farm there were four fields, each containing some of…