Partridge in a Pear Tree

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffles us.
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?

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.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke &
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.
-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.
-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 you know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol.

Thanks Abe. That was interesting.

I found out about the ban to practice Catholicism in England when I wrote Flow On Sweet Missouri, and discovered a second baptism of my great-great grandfather in the Catholic Church in England in 1830. The family didn't practice Catholicism when they came to the US, but the second baptism seemed to indicate another religion had been part of their lives.

Carol

Whenever I read these chain letter outpourings, I Google and sure enough, I always find a website to debunk the myth (this one began around 1990, so it's quite a modern myth!)

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/music/12days.asp

Shelagh,

That was interesting as well.

I had read that many of the Catholics in England in the 1800s were from Ireland, thus my trying to validate my grandmother's claims to being part Irish. I never could make that connection, however.

And so it is with the Twelve Days of Christmas Carol. We want to put pieces together, stories together, find deep meaning, where there might be none except imagination.

It is the same with my fairy tales in my book, Now Is Once Upon a Time. I wrote from my imagination, but people I know have told me what they mean.

Carol

So much for passing things along.
Can't believe anything these days. Someone is always looking for a new twist to things. If it's all bunk, then I hope that Partridge in the pear tree gets shot. What the hell would he be doing in a pear tree anyway? I don't think a Partridge eats pears, or am I wrong about that as well?

But, Abe, I like the way the words fit together,

"Partridge in a pear tree." It wouldn't be as melodic if it were "eagle in a pear tree," or "crow in a pear tree."

Carol

I have 6 Jays and a multitude of other little birds in a cherry tree. Does that count?

Zada,

I think we could write a pretty good song with jays and cherry trees.

By the way, my husband is watching the Seattle football game and it is snowing there!!

Last night we got a few more inches and today it has been below zero all day with winds at about 15 miles per hour.

Carol

We got a few inches the other day, yesterday we got about 6 or 8, and today it looks like we got another 10. And it is still snowing! It's 32 degrees out, but it's still early. (6:30 here)

Last year we had a white Christmas purely from the cold and frost. It was beautiful. At 7AM this morning it is balmy outside and nearly 50 degrees. I guess I can only dream of a white Christmas this year. Hey! That has the ring of a song. Do you suggest I google it?

How does it go? Does it go with a bing?

Don't worry Abe, my Aunt sent me that same email about the 12 Days, and I sent her the same link that Shelagh found - it does lead to some interesting discussion though...especially about the weather...

Here in our neck of the woods today it is freaking miserable. We've had about 15 cm (6 inches) of snow, and the wind is blowing madly with gusts at 100 km (60 mph). I am glad not to be in Cape Breton, the north west part of the province, where the winds are steady at 100 km and gusting at 180 km (hurricane force winds).

They closed our office this morning due to power outages, but apparently some of the folks are heading in, so I suppose I should as well. First, I have to dig my car out; the snowplow came and did our parking lot at 5 AM, leaving a nice 3 foot mound of windrow behind all of us. Crap. I knew I should have come up with an extra couple hundred bucks a month to find a place with underground parking. I clearly need to be selling some more books.

This is what we refer to as a triple toque day.

Pam, I wish you could stay in and warm today. Christmas is no time to be suffering with frost bite! Wear triple everything!! I don't envy you your weather. It's almost 34 degrees this morning, and I can hear dripping from the eaves, so something is getting lighter. But there is another storm poised to come in off the coast, they say!

Shelagh,
yes I believe it was Bing Crosby that crooned that tune. I love the song.

Pam & Zada,
I both envy and at the same time feel sorry for you. I like snow but there's a limit. If you remember the post I made on the Comedy thread about "My Diary" I'm sure you can commiserate with that.

Pam,
How about making a sign with a picture of your book(s) and stick it in the highest mound of snow. Someone's bound to see it unless the snow plow covers it up. It could even be news worthy.

Alright that is just nasty out there! Brr! If I have to move my car I can now, but the office is still closed due to the power outage, so I dug out my car and the sweetheart that parks beside me - she is a nurse and retiring at the end of this month because she says that at 73, she feels ready. She has worked as a VON (Victoria Order of Nurses) doing home visits for years and delayed retirning because as a widow she needed something to occupy herself with. What a fantastic lady! I gave her a copy of my book (the Wake Up Women one I just posted about) -- couldn't help myself.

Abe, the way this guy plows, and in this wind I don't imagine a sign would last long. With all the talk of Bing, I now have him singing quietly in the background. Ah, the sweet sounds of Christmas fill the air. Totally off topic from where you started with this thread, but sweet all the same.

One further note about White Christmas. I sang that song with the local band this past week at the Sports Christmas celebration. Got a standing ovation.

Everyone is into singing English/American songs and the dialect of most singers can be hilarious. I suppose that’s why I’m often asked to sing with a genuine American accent.

Not too long ago a member of the audience came up to me afterwards and said, “That was great, you really did a good job with the American accent.” Then I blew it by telling him I was American rather than take the compliment of him thinking I was German.

I’m sure it’s not that I sing that well, but compared to others, I’ve got some
edge. In January I’m asked to sing the solo part of “What a wonderful world” made famous by Louis Armstrong, at a regional concert. It may be my last hurrah. It is just two days before I turn 70, after that….????

We've got big piles of snow. It is minus seven outside, but the wind is only six miles per hour. It is beautiful from our living room. Yesterday the winds were almost 20 miles per hour and straight line winds were blowing snow off the roofs across the street.

Carol

Me again.

For some reason my voice has gone down an octave and now I can sing base. I used to be an alto, and now I sing the same notes as my husband, who has a wonderful singing voice. Mine is not that wonderful.

Great singing Abe.

Carol

Dave, Bing and Mr. A. Leon Spaceman wish everyone peace on Earth this Christmas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jniAG55xGmY

Carol, that's better than being a man whose voice goes up an octave or two.

It's nice that you sing well, Abe. I can empty a room in 10 seconds when I sing a few notes.

Abe, 70 is just a number. As long as you can sing, do so.

Thanks Zada.
Singing is therapeutic. It is uplifting. I suppose when my voice is no longer good enough to go "solo" it can still join with others in making a joyful noise.

I love to put the Nutcracker on, full blast, and dance around the living room. It drives the cats and half-blind dog crazy.

Traditions...

Rhett, that's what I am about to do -- blast the carols and wrap while seeing if I can drive the kids crazy.
Abe some of my favourite memories are playing in a band, no matter what time of year it was. I also know that when my flute playing was at its best, so was my singing voice. I wish you many more concerts - with whatever accent you like!

I just talked to my daughter who is the musical director at a large church in Norfolk, Virginia. She said they had waxed the floors in the church and used too much water which leaked into the sound system, so she has no idea how this is going to work. She said she has two services today with choirs and a brass quartet and they have not been able to practice in the church.

It will all be fine I am sure. It is Christmas Eve!

Carol