Among the popular songs of Christmas, aside from Jose Mari Chan’s long-playing
Christmas songs that hit the airwaves as early as the start of the so-called “ber” (as in “berrrrrrry
cold) months, which is September, is the song “The 12 Days of Christmas.”
But the actual beginning of the Christmas season among believers of Jesus Christ is the Advent of Christmas. Advent, in terms of Christmas, refers to the days before the birth of Jesus Christ. Advent
comes from the Latin word “adventus” which means “a coming, approach, arrival.” It starts on
the Sunday closest to November 30 or the four weekends or Sunday before December 25,
Christmas day.
The Advent period reminds Christians to prepare for celebrations. Each week, Christians reflect on the virtues that Jesus Christ brought to us. Churches display their Advent wreath with five candles, one for each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas day and the fifth candle for Christmas day itself.
The five candles are placed on a Christmas wreath made of evergreen to represent the everlasting life brought to us through Jesus. Its circular shape represents God, with no beginning and no end. The virtues symbolized by the first four candles are hope, peace, joy, and love.
The first two Advent candles are colored purple, a liturgical color. At the beginning of Advent, Christians are expected to prepare for the coming of the Lord. Spiritually, we are expected to be in a state of repentance and contemplation of our sins to smoothen His path to our souls and be at peace with our
fellowmen and the world.
On the third Sunday of Advent, also called the “Gaudete Sunday”, the third Advent candle which is colored pink is lit to symbolize joy. The virtue of joy is a long-lasting state of being in any situation or stage in life, knowing that even in one’s darkest moment, God will see you through. It must not be confused with happiness which is just a fleeting emotion that is occasioned by a particular moment or an event that brings a sense of elation or excitement.
The fourth Advent candle is colored white and is lit to signify the purity of love, which is the reason for the coming of Jesus Christ: to save us from sin and bring us everlasting life through His self-sacrifice.
But one might ask, why do we still celebrate Advent when Jesus Christ was born thousands of years ago? It is to remind humankind to prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ, as He promised.
We must be ready and prepared for the Second Coming by constantly remembering and practicing the virtues that Jesus Christ left with us on His First Coming.
Coming now to “The 12 Days of Christmas,” the song refers to the 12 days following the
birth of Jesus Christ or the Epiphany, which is the time when Christians remember the Three
Wise Men, known as the Three Kings, who paid homage to baby Jesus.
Many people find this song weird or even baffling because the so-called gifts in the lyrics
seem to have no correlation to Christmas at all.
When we were young, we never thought about the weirdness and, instead, thought it very funny, and the song became a memory game. Better yet, it becomes a betting challenge during the holidays; that is, what or which gift was referred to on what day of Christmas? The loser gets drunk or groggy because of giving the wrong answers.
Let me share with you a post sent to me via facebook by a dear friend about the origin of this song, in order to give proper context to its weird lyrics, with a caution that you must fact-check it, although I am quite convinced it is true, thus:
“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 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 is Jesus Christ; Two turtle doves are the Old and the New Testaments; The three French hens stand for faith, hope and love; The four calling birds refer to the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; Five golden rings recall the Torah or the first five books of the Old Testament; The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation; Seven swans a-swimming represent the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophesy, serving, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership, and mercy; The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes; Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; Ten Lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments; Eleven Pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful disciples; The twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of belief in the Apostles Creed.”
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!
